


When It's All Over

by puck1919



Series: Take On Me [8]
Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Alien Abduction, Alien Invasion, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Gosalyn Starling - Freeform, Gyro Gearloose is former FOWL, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, The Evronian Empire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:00:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 36,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26609419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/puck1919/pseuds/puck1919
Summary: It was a beautiful summer’s day in Duckburg. The wedding party gathered under a large, open air tent set up on the grounds of McDuck Manor. And within half an hour, the Justice Ducks would find themselves facing the end of the world.
Relationships: Della Duck/Gyro Gearloose, Donald Duck & Drake Mallard, Donald Duck & Uno | One (Disney: PKNA), Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera & Gyro Gearloose, Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera/Drake Mallard, Lena (Disney: DuckTales)/Gosalyn Mallard, Uno | One & Everett Ducklair
Series: Take On Me [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1688977
Comments: 60
Kudos: 50





	1. Pour the Champagne

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Well, this calls for a toast  
> So pour the champagne,  
> Pour the champagne."  
> — Panic! at the Disco, "I Write Sins Not Tragedies"

It was a beautiful summer’s day in Duckburg. The wedding party gathered under a large, open air tent set up on the grounds of McDuck Manor. Donald stared into his drink as Fenton took Drake’s hand and they went onto the floor for the first dance. 

“ _You must remember this, a kiss is just a kiss..._ ” the song started.

He was trying to avoid making eye contact with Gyro, who was seated next to him.

_“What the_ fuck _have you done?” Donald growled._

 _“What do you mean?” Gyro asked. “We fixed some tech, it’s not_ — ack! _”_

_Donald pressed his elbow into Gyro’s neck._

_“He was dead for a_ reason _,” Donald said, his eyes burning. “I didn’t want to...”_

_He closed his eyes, turning his head._

_“I didn’t want to kill him,” Donald said. “But we knew it was the only way to keep us all safe.”_

Gyro knew he was going to be upset the day of the wedding. He didn’t know that other things would take priority over watching Fenton get married.

_“He must have lost some memory when you put him back together,” Donald said._

_“Wait, wait, what’s going on?” Gyro asked. “You_ killed _someone?”_

_A few tears fell down Donald’s face. He stepped back, away from Gyro._

_“Donald, do you need help?” Gyro asked quietly._

_“I killed him, Gyro,” Donald said. “Uno, he... he trusted me and I killed him.”_

Mallory cried silently as Gosalyn held her hand. Her brother looked so... _happy_. She didn’t think they’d have ever been able to have a day like this again.

_“You killed... the robot?” Gyro said._

_“He’s an advanced AI,” Donald said. “They sent him here to spy on us, but he got damaged when he landed.”_

_“You tried to fix him,” Gyro said._

_“He helped me be Paperinik the first time around,” Donald said. “He was... he was my best friend for a while.”_

_“Donald, who sent him?” Gyro asked._

Della was with Scrooge, who had told her how impressed he was with Drake using his relationships to save on a reception venue. Della had helped set things up on the manor grounds and didn’t tell Scrooge that it was going to happen whether or nor not he gave the okay. 

_“Uno called them Evronians,” Donald said. “They... they go to planets, destroy cities, steal technology. They take everything they think will benefit them.”_

_“And if it doesn’t?” Gyro asked._

_Donald looked like he was standing in the middle of a battlefield, the lone survivor of a massacre._

_“They... ‘fix’ it.”_

Morgana found herself standing next to Gandra. 

“They look so happy,” Morgana said.

Gandra nodded. The song ended and the DJ invited the rest of the guests to the floor. Fenton and Drake smiled at each other, like no one else existed.

_“What does that mean?”_ _Gyro asked. “How do they ‘fix’ it?”_

_“There are two things they do,” Donald said. “They have these things that I called ‘coolflames’, because there wasn’t any other name for them. The Evronians, see, they feed on emotions, and coolflames are the husks they leave when they’re done.”_

“So,” Morgana said. “Anything new in the world of science?”

“Actually, yeah,” Gandra said. “They found a new moon near Jupiter.”

“A _new_ moon?” Morgana said. “Doesn’t Jupiter have _79_ moons? Are they sure they didn’t count it wrong?” 

“These are experts on space and stuff,” Gandra said. “They can’t explain it, it just _appeared_ , about a week ago.”

_“But sometimes it doesn’t work properly,” Donald said. “I... I watched it happen to Ducklair.”_

_“Ducklair? You mean_ Everett _Ducklair? The inventor?” Gyro said. “I thought he disappeared.”_

 _“It was more than that,” Donald said. “The Evronians, they couldn’t drain him completely. A Coolflame, see, it won’t remember itself, it’s like a living automaton. Ducklair, he... he kept too much of his mind, and they couldn’t give him orders like the others. So they..._ assimilated _him.”_

_“What does that mean?” Gyro asked._

_“The Evronians aren’t one species,” Donald said. “They take everything they think will benefit them. That includes people.”_

“Something’s about to happen,” Lena said, rubbing her temples.

“What?” Violet asked.

“Get under the table,” Lena said. “I’m going to get Gosalyn.”

_“How do you take a_ person _?” Gyro asked._

_“Cybernetics,” Donald said. “I watched as they... It was like they scooped it all out and put in their tech. They drained his blood, his brain looked like meatloaf in that jar. He was pretty short, you know? When they were done, he was taller than Launchpad, and at least 80% machine. I barely recognized him.”_

_“My god...” Gyro breathed._

“Oh, just _dance_ with me, Lena,” Gosalyn said.

“Gos, listen,” Lena said. “Something’s coming, I can _feel_ it.”

“You’re starting to act like Uncle Drake, you know that?” Gosalyn teased.

_“So, Uno’s Evronian tech,” Gyro said. “That explains why it’s so advanced_ — _it’s alien.”_

_“When I finished fixing him, he started to send out a signal,” Donald said. “Telling the Evronians that we were ready for an invasion. Uno begged me to take him off-line. He talked me through his own murder.”_

_“And I just turned him back on,” Gyro said, slumping against the wall._

Donald sat up at a familiar whooshing sound echoing through the air. 

“Now?” Gyro asked.

“Now,” Donald said. “Take cover.”

_“Is there anything we can do?” Gyro asked. “What if I just turn him off?”_

_Donald shook his head. “It’s too late.”_

Donald ran out of the tent. Lena saw him and followed right behind. Lena’s wings unfurled behind her, and she pulled her staff out of thin air. In the clear sky, a violet spaceship hovered over the manor.

“That’s not good,” Lena said. 

“No, it’s not,” Donald said. “Cover the skies, we need to get everyone indoors.”

She pushed off, putting herself between the ship and the quickest route to the manor. 

A sound like car keys scraping a piano string filled the tent and the music stopped. Giant, duck-like creatures with purple skin and white cybernetics appeared in the crowd. Someone screamed.

Drake saw Donald leading people to the manor. He looked to Fenton.

“Find Gosalyn,” he said. “Get her inside.”

Fenton nodded. Drake dashed behind a table where he’d stored his hat and mask. He activated the Darkwing costume and ran out to join the fight.

The ship started firing down on the tent. Lena threw up shields to protect it. A shot caught her in the wing and she started to fall. Morgana caught her with magic and put her on the ground.

“Are you okay?” she asked. 

Lena winced. “I’ll live.”

An Evronian approached Gyro, who was backed into a corner. Gandra jumped on the Evronian’s back and electrocuted him with her nanites. The alien went down quickly.

“Those are pretty useful,” Gyro said.

Another Evroninan knocked her aside and grabbed him.

“Gyro!” she yelled.

The alien disappeared with Gyro to the same scraping sound.

“What the..?” she breathed.

The Evronians opened fire. Darkwing and Della pulled people out of the way, getting them to Launchpad and Donald, who escorted them inside. 

“Have you seen Mallory?” Drake asked. 

Della shook her head. “She’s probably inside already.” 

“No,” Drake said. “She’d be looking for Gosalyn.”

Dewey ran through the crowd, looking for his brothers. He spotted Louie, running from one of the aliens and yelling his head off. Dewey ran over and grabbed the Evronian’s arm. The alien tried to shake him off, and Dewey held on as tight as he could. The Evronian gave up getting rid of him and grabbed Louie by the collar, disappearing with the both of them.

Morgana reinforced Lena’s shields as Violet attempted to heal her sister’s wing.

“This wound isn’t normal,” Violet said.

“It’s an alien invasion, is anything about this normal?” Lena asked.

People were starting to thin out and Drake still couldn’t find Mallory. Maybe she had gone inside. He found Gosalyn hiding under a table, trembling.

“Come on, Gos,” he said. “Come on, sweety, let’s get you to safety.”

“T-they got him,” Gosalyn said, tears in her eyes. “Drake, they got—”

An Evronian lifted the table and Gosalyn screamed. Drake grabbed her and pulled her behind him, backing away from the alien. 

“It’s going to be okay, Gos,” he said. “I promise.”

The Evronian raised his weapon and fired. Drake caught it in the shoulder and went down. Gosalyn screamed. His vision went fuzzy as he could barely make out Gosalyn being grabbed by the alien and disappearing. 

He blacked out.


	2. Waking Up at the Start

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Waking up at the start of the end of the world  
> But it's feeling just like every other morning before  
> Now I wonder what my life is gonna mean if it's gone."  
> — Matchbox 20, "How Far We've Come"

Drake came to in a bottom bunk in a room he didn’t quite recognize. Violet was doing something to his shoulder and Lena was nursing a wound on her wing. Donald and Scrooge were arguing, but between Donald’s lisp and Scrooge’s accent, Drake couldn’t understand a word of it, and he wasn’t 100% certain they weren’t arguing in Gaelic anyways. Mallory rushed to him when he tried to sit up. He winced, pain radiating from his shoulder.

“You need to lie down, Mr. Mallard,” Violet said.

“He’s an awful patient,” Mallory said. “Drake, everything’s...”

She looked away

“You can’t even say it,” Drake muttered. “Mal, they got Gosalyn.”

“I know,” she said quietly. “They got a few of us.”

“I need names,” Drake said.

Mallory shook her head. “After Vi’s finished healing you.”

“Mal,” Drake said. “Please.”

She sighed. “Della. Dewey and Louie. Webby. Launchpad. Gyro. And Fenton.”

His heart dropped. 

“We have to get them back,” Drake said. 

“That’s what they’re arguing about,” Mallory said, gesturing towards Donald and Scrooge.

“I can’t just lie here while— ergh!” He tried to sit up again and Violet pushed him back down, her hand right on his wound.

“Stay,” Violet said. 

Drake groaned. “Yes, ma’am.”

Donald turned away from Scrooge. “You’re not going.”

“Ye cannae do this alone!” Scrooge yelled. “Ye nearly _died_ last time!”

“I’m not alone,” Donald said, wheeling around. “My kids are up there. _Della_ is up there, and I am not 25 anymore. I need you here, on the ground.”

“Tae do what?” Scrooge asked. “Drink tea while our family is in danger?”

“Gloria will need you,” Donald said. “We need someone people will listen to so that we can start an evacuation. Mrs. B is working with SHUSH, but people _listen_ to you. Everyone needs to be out before they get here.”

Scrooge paused. “When did you grow up?”

“When my sister crash-landed on the moon,” Donald said. “I’ll get her back. I promise.”

“Aye,” Scrooge sighed.

“Uncle Donald?” Huey slowly stepped into the room. “What happened to Dewey and Louie?”

“I’ll take care of this, lad,” Scrooge said. “You need to work.”

Scrooge took Huey out of the room. Donald went over to Drake and Mallory. 

“Is he going to be okay to fly?” Donald asked.

“I’d give it an hour at least,” Violet said.

Donald nodded. “Okay. I need him and Lena patched up by then. I gotta go make a call.”

“A call?” Drake said.

“Well, Penumbra’s the only one I know with a spaceship,” Donald said. “And we can’t exactly walk to Jupiter.”

Donald walked out of the room. Drake blinked.

“Sorry, we’re going to _Jupiter_?”

* * *

Della gasped as she woke up. She was lying on the floor of a bare cell— or, not so much a cell as a deep alcove in a wall, with smaller alcoves along the walls of the first. Everything was a stark gray, the walls were covered in pipes. The smaller alcoves had silhouettes of large, headless bodies against the inlet wall, made of a solid sheet of metal. Della could see computer screens next to the smaller alcoves, all deactivated. A shimmering haze blocked the alcove from the hall just outside. Some kind of force field was keeping them in. 

“Della!” Gosalyn scrambled over to her. “Della, you’re awake!”

“Yeah, kiddo,” Della said. “Everything’s going to be ok— woah!”

She tried to get up and fell over immediately onto the floor, a grate suspended over illuminated sheet metal. The light from the floor was the only light in the room. She looked down. Her left pant leg was deflated, empty below the end of her leg. 

“Where’s my leg?” she asked, tying the pant under the end of her leg.

“They took it,” Gosalyn said. 

Della rolled her eyes. “Of course they did. Okay, kiddo, let’s...”

She looked over at Gosalyn. Her dress was torn and her eyes were red, like she’d been crying. Della sighed.

“I need you to be brave,” Della said quietly. “I know this is scary, but we’re going to get through this.”

Gosalyn sniffed, nodding. “I’ll try to get one of these computers on.”

“Good girl,” Della said.

* * *

Gyro shocked himself on the wires behind the panel Dewey had pulled off the wall.

“Let me try, let me try!” Dewey said, jumping up and down next to him. Gyro put a hand on his head and pushed him away. 

“I’m sorry, which one of us is the head of McDuck R&D and which one of us is the one that _broke_ our only way out?” Gyro asked.

“They have my brother!” Dewey said. “I need to find him!”

“They have you too,” Gyro said. 

“Not for long,” Dewey said. He ran at the forcefield sealing them in and bounced off of it, sliding on the floor.

“Didn’t work the first three times, wasn’t going to work this time,” Gyro said.

“Well, what are _you_ doing?” Dewey said. 

“I’m trying to hotwire the forcefield to deactivate it,” Gyro said.

Dewey paused. “Oh. That might work.”

“Thank you,” Gyro muttered. “Now, sit _down_.”

Dewey sat, his arms crossed.

“You know, I broke into the Doomsday Vault,” Dewey said.

“Yes, you’re very smart,” Gyro said. “Shut up.”

Gyro finally found the combination of wires that brought down the forcefield. Dewey went to run out into the hall and Gyro grabbed the back of his shirt. 

“You might be my boss’ nephew, but I was raised by some of the best spies in the world,” he said. “You will follow my lead, or we will _both_ end up dead, you got that?”

Dewey frowned. “ _Fine_.”

Gyro crouched down. “Get on, I’m going to carry you.”

“Really?”

“It’s that or I grab you every five minutes,” Gyro said. 

Dewey rolled his eyes and climbed on Gyro’s back. Gyro stuck his head out into the hall. No one was coming. 

Gyro slowly headed out and almost immediately ran into the next alcove. Dewey gasped and Gyro clamped down on his beak. 

Gyro hadn’t gotten a good look at the aliens when they grabbed him. Here, in the six inlets of the alcove, six of them were standing, perfectly still. They were still, large, duck-like creatures, but where there should have been a head, their torso ended. A face with blank white eyes and a pale white beak were on the center of what could charitably be called a chest. White cybernetics extended their arms from the elbows, far past their natural proportions, connected to the upper arms by translucent tubing. More tubes connected to the chest from the walls— red light moving in beads into the creature.

Dewey jumped down from Gyro’s back and approached one.

“Kid, don’t—”

“They’re asleep,” Dewey said. He poked it in the leg. “They can’t tell we’re here.”

Gyro looked at one of the computer screens next to the inlets. Readings in a language Gyro almost recognized ran past on the monitor.

“They’re in some kind of hibernation,” he said.

“Isn’t that what I said?” Dewey said.

“Yes,” Gyro said. “But I said it with more science.”

“Right,” Dewey muttered.

Across the alcove, one of the aliens whirred to life, the tubes detaching and retracting back into the wall. It stepped out of the inlet and Gyro pulled Dewey behind him. The drone walked out of the alcove and started down the hall. Gyro blinked.

“It didn’t see us,” he said. 

* * *

Fenton paced in the alcove, shaking his head. 

“Forcefield means energy projection, energy means power source, disrupt the power source... no, disrupt connection to power source?” he muttered.

“You got a plan, genius?” Louie asked.

“I’m working on it,” Fenton said.

“I thought Darkwing’s sister made you all nanosuits,” Louie said.

“It was Gandra,” Fenton said. “And no, the Gizmosuit is too big. Even nanobots need to follow the Law of Conservation of Mass.”

“You left it at the manor?” Louie asked.

“Why would it be at the manor?” Fenton asked, flushing. “It was my wedding, why would I need a powered armor suit at my _wedding_?”

“Didn’t Drake wear the Darkwing armor under his suit?” 

Fenton paused. “I stashed it on the houseboat. Everything happened so fast, they got me before I could bring it out.”

Louie walked to the edge of the alcove, trying to see out into the hall. 

“Where do you think they’re taking us?” Louie asked quietly.

“I don’t know,” Fenton answered. “But we’re gonna get through this, Louie. I promise.”

* * *

“So how soon can you get here?” Donald asked.

“Less than two hours,” Penumbra said. “But Donald, this is the Evronian Empire. You really think we can stop them with an actor and a few kids?”

“We’re not stopping them this time,” Donald said. “We’re getting our friends back. They’re going to come to Earth, General. We’re getting ready down here, but if we can’t hold them back...”

“They’ll come for the Moon next,” Penumbra said. “I know.”

“You have to help,” Donald said. “And you know that.”

“I’ll bring some advance troops,” Penumbra said. “To coordinate with your people and assure everyone we’re going to help. I assume you want me to get you to the worldship?”

“If you can,” Donald said.

“Of course I can,” Penumbra said. “How did _you_ end up on the wrong side of the Evronians anyway?”

“It’s a long story,” Donald said. “I’ll tell you on the way to Jupiter.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” she said. “Penumbra, out.”

Donald turned off the radio.

“Who was that?”

Donald jumped and turned around to face Uno.

“Don’t scare me like that,” Donald said. “That was General Penumbra of the Moonlanders. She’s gonna help us against the Evronians.”

“Right.” Uno wheeled closer to Donald. “PK, this is my fault, isn’t it?” 

“No! No, of course not, Uno,” Donald said. “And we’re going to do everything we can to stop it.”

“I sent the signal though,” he said. “The one I didn’t want to send.”

Donald sighed. “We did everything we could. And you gave me enough time to get some friends to help me. They were gonna come whether or not you sent that signal. But now I think we have a fighting chance to survive.”

“I don’t want you just to survive,” Uno said. “I want you to win.”

Donald smiled. “Sometimes survival is the best thing you can hope for.”

“Ducklair said that hope means to wish for a better outcome,” Uno said. “By that standard, survival is the _least_ we could hope for.”

“Ducklair said that?” Donald said. 

“Yes,” Uno said. 

Donald paused.

“You miss him,” Uno said.

“I missed both of you,” Donald said. “But we’re going to get through this. I promise.”


	3. Leaving Ground

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I guess there is no one to blame  
> We're leaving ground  
> Will things ever be the same again?"  
> — Europe, "The Final Countdown"

Drake sat up as Violet finished bandaging his shoulder. Across the room, Lena gently folded and unfolded her wing, wincing. 

“It’ll scar,” Violet said.

“That’s okay,” Drake said. “It’ll hide the scar I got when Jim shot me.”

“What is with these?” Lena asked, trying to apply another healing spell to her wing. “The spells are barely working.”

“From my analysis, healing spells repair damaged tissue,” Violet said. “These wounds are more like gouges. We can’t repair the tissue because there is no tissue to repair. I think they’re using some kind of disruptor ray as a weapon.”

“Good to know,” Drake said. “Am I done?”

Violet shrugged. “I’ve done everything I can.”

Down in the foyer, the wedding guests huddled in clusters. Duckworth floated between them, offering assistance and coffee. Drake was approached by Indy and Ty. 

“Is Lena okay?” Ty asked. 

“She’ll be fine,” Drake said. “Vi’s looking after her. They’re up in the triplet’s room.”

Ty nodded and the two of them went up to check on their daughters. Drake spotted Mallory and Gandra off to the side. Mallory looked concerned and Gandra didn’t seem to be looking at anything at all. 

“Are you okay?” he asked her.

“Gyro was right in front of me,” she breathed.

He nodded. “We’re going to get them back. All of them.”

Gandra looked up. “I want in.”

“I don’t know, Dee,” Drake said. “This is gonna be—”

“Dangerous?” Mallory said. 

Drake sighed, almost laughing. “Get some armor, I’ll talk to Donald.”

“Talk to Donald about what?” Donald approached the three of them, crossing his arms.

“Look, we’re down three ducks,” Drake said. “We need all the help we can get.”

“No, I get that,” Donald said. “Are you sure you’re ready to be out in the field?”

“Part of this is my fault,” Gandra said. “I helped them rebuild Uno. I just...”

She opened a clenched fist and sparks danced between her fingers.

“They have our friends,” Gandra said. “I need to help get them back.”

Donald muttered something inaudible and nodded, walking away.

“I think that’s as good as we’ll get for now,” Drake said. 

“You mean..?”

“Welcome to the team,” Drake said. “Megavolt.”

“I’ll go get my armor,” Gandra said.

Gandra left and Mallory pulled her wrap around her shoulders.

“I wish there was something I could do to help,” she said. 

Drake put a hand on her arm. 

“We just want you safe,” Drake said. “You and Gos have already lost Jim, I’m gonna get her back to you.”

“Jim... oh!” She lit up. “There is one thing, Gyro and I worked on it together, just wait here.”

She came back with one of the wedding presents. 

“You didn’t have one, and it’s something Jim never would have been without on set,” she said.

Drake cautiously opened the box. Inside was a revolver gun with a large barrel and several cartridges. 

“A gas gun,” he said, almost smiling.

“It’s a little more than that. It has two main settings,” she said, taking it out of the box. “The gas, a particular combination of noxious gasses that Gyro cooked up, and—”

She turned a dial on the back of the gun and a grappling hook came out of the barrel.

“Grappling hook, nice,” Drake said. “I can get Fenton to stop yelling at me for jumping off buildings.”

“Now with the gas,” Mallory said, taking out the cartridges. “We modified some of your usual gear to work with the gun. Yellow is the gas, blue is ice, red for the cherry bombs. Just turn the cylinder to change the projectile.”

“Sounds good,” he said. “I just wish I had more time to thank you.”

Mallory nodded. “There’s a lot that’s not going to happen. Just get them home.”

Drake paused. “Right.”

* * *

Della sat up against the wall of the alcove, her hand on the scars at the end of her leg. 

“Are you okay?” Gosalyn asked. 

“Yeah, I just...” Della almost laughed. “My knee hurts.”

“Oh, um...” Gosalyn looked away.

“It’s okay, I get what it sounds like,” Della said. “It’s called ‘phantom limb pain’, it happens every now and again.”

Gosalyn sat down next to Della and brought her knees to her chest. “Usually someone’s here by now.”

“I know, kiddo,” Della said. “But we’re not the only ones up here. You said you saw them take Fenton?”

Gosalyn nodded.

“He’ll figure a way out of his cell, I’m sure of it,” she said. “Your uncle’s really smart that way.”

“Sure,” Gosalyn said. “It’s just... it’s different than normal. There’s usually someone right by, laughing about their plans or trying to get something from us. I haven’t seen one of these things since we got here. Every time someone’s gotten me, I knew exactly what they wanted. What do they want with us?”

“I don’t know,” Della said. “But your dads, and Launchpad, and me and my brother, and all of us, we’re gonna stop it.”

Gosalyn sighed. Della put a hand on her back. 

“There’s a song I sang to my boys when they were eggs,” Della said. “That my brother sang to them after they hatched.”

Gosalyn nodded. “My mom had a lullaby that her dad wrote to hide the code to a doomsday weapon.” 

Della paused. “Well, it’s not exactly that. It’s something I wanted them to think about when they got scared. _Look to the stars, my darling baby boys. Life is strange and vast, filled with wonders and joys..._ ”

Gosalyn leaned against Della’s shoulder.

“ _Face each new sun with eyes clear and true,_ ” she continued. “ _Unafraid of the unknown, because I’ll face it all with you._ ”

Gosalyn closed her eyes and Della rubbed her shoulder.

“We’re gonna get out of this, kiddo,” she said quietly. “I promise.”

* * *

Gyro looked around a corner and saw a door. An Evronian left and Gyro bolted for it as soon as it was out of sight, holding on to Dewey.

Behind the door was a room filled with limbs. On panels recessed into the walls were robotic, artificial limbs and eyepieces and all kinds of cybernetic upgrades. A cold blue light from the recessed panels dimly lit the dark room, casting dark shadows around everything. Metal counters with drawers lined the walls from the waist down. What looked to Gyro like an operating table took up much of the space at the center of the room. There were straps on the table to bind a patient. Or a test subject.

“This is it,” Gyro said. 

“What?” Dewey asked. “A prosthetics lab?”

“Probably not the only one on board,” Gyro said, looking around. “Your uncle was telling me about this last week, they take people and they turn us into more of them.”

“Wait, you _knew_ ?” Dewey yelled. “You _knew_ they were coming and you did _nothing_?”

Gyro pulled a small, square device out of his jacket. “Well, not _nothing_. It’s a locator, the kind they use on space probes. Donald and I hid them on everyone. Out of the... let’s say, ten people that are part of the JDI, we made sure everyone got one.”

“Without them knowing,” Dewey said. 

“Sure,” Gyro said. “Hardest part was going to be getting them in the rings, but luckily Fenton trusts me a lot more than he should.”

Dewey looked around the lab. “They’re going to do this to us?” 

“Not if we stop them first,” Gyro said. 

Dewey looked away and something caught his eye. “No...”

He ran over to a pile on the floor and pulled something out. It was a leg, older than the ones on the walls, obviously made of scrap, with bandaging to hold it together. He showed it to Gyro.

“Della,” Gyro said, looking the leg over. 

The door to the lab opened.

* * *

Fenton and Louie pulled a panel off of the wall to reveal a stream of wires in the wall. 

“Okay,” Fenton said, pulling out a Swiss army knife. “These look like they’re coated in silicone. Makes sense, rubber is made from plant matter and plastic is made from oil, so if they don’t have access to those, they can’t use that as an insulator. Now, we need to find out which ones are live, so we know which ones to cut. To do that, we’re gonna strip the wires.”

Louie blinked. “Do I _look_ like Huey?”

“I mean,” Fenton said. “You _are_ identical triplets.”

“Just get us out of here!”

Fenton took the scissors out of his knife and reached in. The forcefield dropped. 

“That was quick,” Louie said.

“That wasn’t me.”

Fenton stepped back from the wall. An Evronian stepped into the alcove. 

“Louie, get back,” Fenton said quietly.

“I’ve _got_ this,” Louie said, stepping forward. “Hey, man, this is all a big misunderstanding—”

“The adult will come with us,” the Evronian said. Its voice screeched like a dying synthesizer.

“Come on,” Louie said. “We can work something out.”

“Resistance is futile,” the Evronian said. “You will comply.”

“And if I don’t?” Fenton asked. 

The Evronian paused. “Resistance is futile.”

The Evronian picked Fenton up with one hand by the front of his shirt. 

“You will comply,” it said. 

“Hey!” Louie said. “Let him go!”

Fenton looked quickly to Louie and back. 

“It’s okay!” he said. “I’ll comply. Louie, get back.”

“What?” Louie said.

Fenton looked at him. “It’ll be fine.”

The Evronian stepped out of the alcove with Fenton, who let his knife fall right before they left. The alien took Fenton down the hall past where Louie could see. He picked up the knife. 

“Ah, phooey,” he muttered.

* * *

Penumbra’s ship, Iremius, landed in front of McDuck manor. She walked off the ship with two other Moonlanders.

“Mr. McDuck,” she said. 

“General,” Scrooge said.

“These are Arella and Petaris, my two top commanders,” she said. “They will assist with the defense of the city.”

“At your service,” Petaris said, giving an exaggerated bow. Arella rolled her eyes.

“Thank you for coming,” Donald said. “General, are you sure you want to come? I can pilot the ship.”

“One, no you can’t,” Penumbra said. “Unless you forgot that race you and Della had in the Sea of Clouds. And two, Della is my friend. I should help her.”

Donald nodded. “Okay, let’s get everyone on board.”

Lena hugged her dads and her sister.

“Get out of the city as soon as you can,” Lena said. “I’ll be back, I promise.”

“Lena, we are so _proud_ of you,” Indy said.

“And we love you,” Ty said. “But don’t worry about us. With you out there, we know we’ll be safe.”

Lena smiled, trying not to cry.

Drake turned to Gandra. “Are you ready?”

“I’ve never been to space before,” she said, rubbing her new wristbands.

“Me neither,” he admitted.

Mallory ran over and gave Drake a hug.

“Bring them back,” she whispered.

“I promise,” he said, holding on tight.

Uno wheeled up to stand next to Donald.

“You ready to go back, buddy?” Donald asked.

“Sure am, PK,” Uno said. “Let’s kick some Evron butt.”

“I don’t know,” Donald said. “Sounds kind of dangerous, right, Drake?”

Drake grinned. “Let’s get dangerous.”


	4. Rusted Limbs and Bloody Knees

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "A new experienced me  
> Will be coming back on rusted limbs and bloody knees."  
> — Bayside, "A Call to Arms"

Det. Falco held his head in his hands as Scrooge and the Moonlanders argued over manor fortifications. Capt. Cabrera walked into the dining room and sat down next to him.

“How’re we doing?” she asked.

“Not great, boss,” Det. Falco said. 

“The manor’s the high ground,” Scrooge said, slamming his cane on the table. “Easy to fortify and well stocked for a siege.”

“Exactly.” Petaris was a tall Moonlander with violet skin. He crossed his arms. “So we set it up as a command center. A field hospital. We do _not_ attack from there.”

“The mayor’s organizing the evacuation,” Capt. Cabrera said. “Uniforms are redirecting traffic out of the city. Fire Department is helping people who can’t get out on their own. City should be empty this time tomorrow.”

“Well, that’s _some_ good news,” Det. Falco.

“If we start the attack from there, we have nowhere to fall back to.” Arella’s skin was blue and her white hair fell to her shoulders. She calmly pointed at the map of Duckburg. “Rockerduck Estates and Downtown are going to be the places to draw them to that would use the landscapes to our best advantage.”

“Who’s staying behind?” Det. Falco asked. 

“Not enough,” Capt. Cabrera said. “But I had an idea.”

“I think Mr. McDuck is willing to listen to _anything_ else right now,” Det. Falco said. 

“Scrooge,” Capt. Cabrera said, standing up. “If I may?”

“I _insist_ ,” Scrooge growled. 

“I believe we can strengthen our forces,” she said. “But you will have to talk with someone.”

“Personally?” he asked.

“We’ve tried talking to her,” Capt. Cabrera said. “But she’s refusing to leave the junkyard.”

“Wait,” Det. Falco said. “You want to recruit _Ma Beagle_?”

“I see where she’s going with this,” Scrooge said. “I’ll speak with her. You two—” he pointed to Petaris and Arella “—come up with a plan that doesn’t make us look like we’re trying to fight a jungle war in the middle of a city.”

Capt. Cabrera walked out with Scrooge.

“Now, just a fair warning,” she said. “Ma Beagle is—”

“Lass, I’ve been fighting with the Beagle’s since Ma Beagle was a pup,” Scrooge said. “I think I can handle her.”

“...Right,” Capt. Cabrera said. “First, I don’t care how much money you have, don’t interrupt me and _don’t_ call me ‘Lass’, and second, Ma Beagle has been threatening my officers with a _shotgun_ so I thought you might want some fair warning before going down there to try and bargain with her.”

Scrooge nodded. “Very well. My apologies.” 

“Thank you,” she said. “I can drive you there.”

“Seeing as my chauffeur is currently halfway to Jupiter, I would appreciate it,” Scrooge said. “But first, the cellar.”

“Wait, what?” she said.

“She thinks I owe her the deed to the town,” Scrooge said. “At the very least, I owe her a drink.”

* * *

Della’s “knee” still hurt, which concerned her— she’d never had a phantom limb problem for this long before. Though she supposed this was her first extended period in space since she’d left the moon, so that might be affecting it. Gosalyn paced at the front of the alcove.

“You’re going to be in 8th grade this fall, right?” Della asked.

Gosalyn stopped. “Um, if I’m not killed by aliens, sure.”

“Probably too young to start thinking about college,” Della said.

Gosalyn sat down next to her. “College isn’t really gonna help me do what I want to.”

“Is that so?” Della asked.

She nodded. “I mean, it’d be cool to be a lawyer or maybe a math professor? Don’t tell Huey, but I actually really like math.”

Della laughed softly. “I won’t.”

“But those things aren’t going to... to make me what I’m going to be,” Gosalyn said. 

“And what’s that?” she asked.

“I’m going to be Darkwing when I grow up,” she said. 

Della paused. “Is that a fact?”

“Yeah,” she said. “It is.”

The sound of footsteps came down the hall and Gosalyn stood up to look out the forcefield.

“Is it one of those things?” Della asked. 

“I can’t see it yet,” Gosalyn said. 

It turned the corner and Gosalyn saw what looked like a living shadow— entirely black, almost like the Blot had looked— with its head wreathed in pink flames. It was short, just shy of Gosalyn’s height, and as it approached, Gosalyn’s heart sank as she realized she knew the silhouette.

“ _Webby_?”

The thing stopped in front of the alcove to look at her.

“Webby, it’s us,” Gosalyn said. “It’s me, Gosalyn.”

The thing tilted its head, but said nothing. 

“I don’t think she’s Webby anymore, kiddo,” Della said, softly.

* * *

The door to the lab opened. Gyro grabbed Dewey and ducked under the autopsy table. 

“I came here willingly, what do you want with me?” a voice asked. Gyro’s heart dropped.

“Fenton?” Dewey whispered. Gyro put a hand over Dewey’s beak. 

“You will comply,” a monotone, mechanical voice said. Something heavy was dropped on the table.

“Hey, what are you— mphf!” Fenton’s voice was muffled with something.

“You will be brought to us,” the mechanical voice said. The doors opened and someone left. Gyro could hear Fenton struggle on the table. He and Dewey climbed out.

Fenton had been strapped to the table, a piece of metal around his beak to keep him from talking. Gyro took it off.

“What are you doing here?!” Gyro yelled.

“I could ask you the same!” Fenton said. “Who are these guys?”

“It’s a lot to explain,” Gyro said. “They’re called Evronians, they’re aliens, and we have to get you out of here before one of them comes back.”

Gyro started undoing Fenton’s bonds.

“Gyro, no,” Fenton said. Gyro paused. “I only came willingly because they were going to hurt the kid.”

“Which kid?” Dewey asked.

“Louie,” Fenton said. “Why, who else is here?”

Gyro shook his head. “We don’t know. A lot of us got grabbed, but they’re keeping us separate.”

Fenton sighed. “How are we getting out of this one?”

Gyro looked away.

“Uncle Donald will come for us,” Dewey said.

“We’ve got to be halfway across the solar system by now,” Fenton said. “How would he even find us?”

Gyro stepped back. 

“Because he and Gearloose, here, hid deep space trackers on all of the Justice Ducks,” Dewey said.

Gyro closed his eyes as they started to burn.

“This is what you were worried about,” Fenton said. “That I told you to tell me tomorrow.”

“I didn’t think it would happen today,” Gyro whispered. “We... we hoped it wouldn’t happen today...”

Fenton sighed. “You guys have to get out of here before they catch you. If you go right out of the room, there’s a turbolift. Go down three levels and take a left, and that’s where Louie is.”

“I’m not leaving you,” Gyro said.

“ _Si jodes esto_ , they _will_ kill you,” Fenton said. 

“ _Lo sé_ ,” Gyro said. “But based on what Donald told me about these guys, they’re going to do something to you, and if I want to fix it, I have to know how they do it.”

Dewey clutched his mother’s leg. 

“I’ll go get Louie,” he said.

“No, you’re staying with an adult,” Gyro said. 

“Based on how scared you guys seem, staying sounds like a recipe for severe childhood trauma,” Dewey said. “I can go get Louie and we can find Mom, and then we’ll find who else is on board. Trust me.”

He looked down at Della’s leg.

“I can Dewey this.”

Gyro sighed. “Okay. Don’t get caught.”

Dewey rolled his eyes. “Great advice, man.”

Dewey left and Gyro turned back to Fenton.

“He’ll be fine,” Fenton said. “He’s just as tough as his uncle.”

“It’s not him I’m worried about,” Gyro said. 

Fenton paused. “Gyro, what are they going to do to me?”

* * *

Louie stood on his toes trying to reach where Fenton had been showing him what to do. Of course he hadn’t been listening, and suddenly he had to do the _one_ thing that he wasn’t listening to. 

“This is the Number One Dime thing all over again,” Louie muttered. 

“Need some help there?” 

Louie turned around. Dewey was right outside the forcefield, Della’s leg over his shoulder. Louie put Fenton’s knife in his pocket.

“Well, it’s about time!” Louie said. “What kind of rescue do you call this? Also, why do you have Mom’s leg?”

“They must have taken it from her,” Dewey said. “Fenton told me you were here, have you seen anyone else?” 

Louie shook his head. “Just you and Fenton. What about you?”

“I was with Gyro, he stayed behind,” Dewey said. “You want me to get you out of there?”

“Um, _duh_ ,” Louie said. 

Dewey jumped up and hit the control pad, bringing down the forcefield. 

“You got a plan?” Dewey asked.

“Find Mom, take the ship, call for help,” Louie said. “Not a lot of details, but...”

“It’ll work for now,” Dewey said. “Let’s go.”

* * *

Drake, Lena, and Gandra waited in the common area of the ship, outside the cockpit. Drake laid down on the bench, while Lena sat on the floor in the corner and Gandra paced. She played with the controls for her nano-suit, adjusting the colors. She settled on a yellow body suit with red armor and blue gloves. A bolt of lightning crashed across the breastplate.

“Really?” Drake grinned.

“You were the one that called me Megavolt,” Gandra said. She stood still and held out her hands. Electricity danced between her fingers and palms. 

“Considering the tech on these guys, that’s going to be useful,” Drake said, sitting up. 

“None of that is going to be useful if we can’t get past their weapons,” Lena said, pulling loose feathers from her wings. “Those things take a bite out of you, literally.”

“And it eats through my armor,” Gandra said. “To extend the metaphor.”

“Can you block it?” Drake asked Lena.

“I was able to stop the ship from blowing the mansion to bits,” Lena said. “But it’ll only work if their guns match the ship cannons.”

“It’s the only thing we have right now,” Drake said.

Gandra paused. “Not exactly.”

She went up to the cockpit and came back with Uno.

“Uno, what are the specs on the weapons that the Evronians use?” Gandra asked. 

“Oh! All of their weapons use a positronic ray which interacts with the electrons in the target molecules to annihilate the bonds and cause atomic dispersal,” Uno said. “They’re very effective.”

“Yeah,” Drake said. “We noticed. Anything we can do to block the ray?”

“Not that I know of,” Uno said.

“Magic,” Lena said. “But they all use the same process?”

“Yep,” Uno said. “Ship weapons, personal defense— everything. They’ve conquered worlds with them.”

“Well, at least we know that,” Lena said.

“That’s more than you realize, I think,” Gandra said. “Total atomic annihilation, that’s why my armor didn’t work— it doesn’t matter how advanced the tech is, it still runs on electricity. And if they’ve gotten control of antimatter, quantum computing is a walk in the park.”

She sighed and sat down on the bench, right on Drake’s legs.

“Ow,” he muttered, moving out of the way. “Talk to me like I’m stupid, what does that mean for us?”

“It means we need to make sure no one knows that we’re on board,” Gandra said. “One good shot and we’re dead. You’ve got a pretty good sized hole in your shoulder. One of them gets you in the head, you’re gone.”

Lena drew her knees up and hugged them tight.

“You’re scaring the kid, Dee,” Drake muttered.

“Just the kid?” she asked. 

Drake sighed. “I guess we’ll know when we...” 

Drake stood up and stormed into the cockpit. Donald stood behind Penumbra, who was in the driver’s seat.

“You said we had to go to Jupiter,” Drake said. “You knew we had to go to space, we had just been attacked by aliens, but you said _Jupiter_. _Why?_ ”

“A new moon showed up near Jupiter last week,” Donald said. “Don’t you read the news?”

“You don’t read the science page,” Drake said. “Hell, _Fenton_ doesn’t read the science page. He’s too busy doing science. What did you know?”

Donald paused. “General, can we have a minute alone?”

“Sure,” she said, getting up. “Autopilot’s set for an intercept. Should catch up some point after the asteroid belt.”

She left the cockpit and the doors shut.

“What did you know?” Drake asked.

“As far as you’re concerned?” Donald asked. “ _Everything._ ”


	5. Need You Alive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Or you could die and we need you alive  
>  _I’m more than willing to die—_  
>  Your wife needs you alive, son, I need you alive—"  
> — Lin-Manuel Miranda, "Meet Me Inside"

Capt. Cabrera stood behind Scrooge as he sat down across from Ma Beagle and put the bottle of Glenmorangie Cygnet on the table between them. Ma Beagle laid her shotgun on the floor and held a glass in her hand. The “Original Classics” Beagle Boys stood behind her. She slid another glass across to Scrooge.

“I’m listenin’,” she said. 

He poured from the bottle. “You’re not an idiot, Ma. You know when I say ‘alien invasion’, that it’s a fairly good chance there’s going to be one.”

“I ain’t giving up an inch a’ what’s mine,” she said, pouring herself a drink. “This town is gonna belong to the Beagle Boys just as soon as you got everyone out.”

“Not _everyone’s_ leaving,” Scrooge said. “But odds are this place is going to be a hole in the ground by the end of next week. Sure, I’ll be dead, but what kind of victory would tha’ be? ‘Take this flaming pit full of aliens wanting to kill us all’, a lovely parting gift, I’m sure.”

“You stole that deed from my family,” she said. “This town belongs to _me_.”

“That’s not what I’m here to argue,” Scrooge said. “I simply thought that you might have a preference for the condition of Duckburg should you somehow... _obtain_ the deed.”

Ma Beagle paused. She poured herself another drink.

“Who’s stayin’ behind?” she asked.

“Sorry?”

“You said not everyone’s leavin’,” Ma Beagle said. “Who’s stayin’?”

“Well, I am,” Scrooge said. “My kids, a few volunteers from Duckburg PD, Morgana Macawber, Beakley, Mallory—”

“Mallory Starling?” Bouncer asked.

Scrooge blinked. “Aye..?”

Burger and Big Time looked at Bouncer.

“The hell do you know some stuffy old scientist?” Big Time asked.

“She’s Drake’s sister,” Bouncer said. “Remember, the guy in my cell last time we were in, got kidnapped in the middle of the night?”

“Sorry, Drake shared a cell with _you_?” Capt. Cabrera said.

Bouncer shrugged. “Sure. How’s he doing, anyways?”

“Not _great_ ,” she said, crossing her arms. “Considering his wedding got interrupted by an _invasion_.”

“Ma, we gotta help them,” Bouncer said.

“Says who?” Ma Beagle said. “Now this is my house, and I ain’t gonna—”

“I’ll let you keep the bottle,” Scrooge said. 

“Sold,” Ma Beagle said. 

* * *

The thing stopped in front of the alcove to look at her.

“Webby, it’s us,” Gosalyn said. “It’s me, Gosalyn.”

The thing tilted its head, but said nothing. 

“I don’t think she’s Webby anymore, kiddo,” Della said, softly.

The thing opened its beak and a sound like feedback echoed in the alcove. Gosalyn stepped back, her hands over her ears. It closed its beak and Gosalyn could feel her eyes burn. 

“What did they do to you?” she asked. “We’re friends, Webby! You have to remember.”

“Gosalyn,” Della said. 

Gosalyn fell to her knees. 

“They’re going to kill us,” Gosalyn said. 

“You don’t know that’s what that is,” Della said.

“Mom?”

Dewey and Louie ran up to the cell.

“Who is..?” Dewey trailed off. “Webby?”

The Webby-shade opened its beak, this time looking like it was trying to talk. The feedback started again and Louie put a hand over her beak. 

“Ow!” He stepped back and shook his hand to put the fire out. “Why’s her head on fire?”

“They did that to her,” Gosalyn said. “Those _things_ did that to her.”

“Is that..?” Louie looked to Dewey. 

“No, that was a tech lab,” Dewey said. “This is... not that.”

“What’s not what?” Gosalyn said. “What do you know?”

“Gyro and Fenton,” Dewey said. “They were in a lab. Fenton—”

“Get me to them,” Gosalyn said. She hit her fist against the forcefield. “Get me out of here and get me to Fenton!”

“Gosalyn, calm down,” Della said. “Dewey, honey, give me my leg.”

“Oh, right.” Dewey let down the forcefield and Gosalyn took off. Louie grabbed the train of her dress and pulled her back. 

“Is that really the best decision right now?” Louie asked. 

“What were they doing to Fenton?” she asked.

“We don’t know,” Della said, putting her leg back on and standing up. “But that’s not the priority.”

“Not the priority?” Gosalyn yelled.

Della tried to take a step and collapsed in pain. 

“Mom!” Dewey ran over to her and held her up.

“Thanks, Dewey,” she said. “But I don’t think I’m going anywhere.”

Gosalyn sighed. “Why is Fenton not the priority?”

“Because of Gyro,” Della said. “You said Gyro was with him, right?”

“Right,” Dewey said, nodding.

“For better or worse, Gyro’s not going to let anything bad happen to Fenton,” Della said. “Bigger priority is Webby.”

“How do you figure?” Louie asked. 

“They kept us in pairs,” Della said. “One adult, one kid. Find out who she was with. See if they can help.”

“And leave you here?” Louie asked.

Della nodded. “You need to be fast. And I’m not running any marathons right now. I’ll be okay, I promise.”

“You can’t promise that right now,” Gosalyn said. “None of us can.”

Louie sighed. “Then we stay alive until Uncle Donald comes and saves us.”

“What makes you think Uncle Donald wasn’t with Webby?” Dewey asked.

“Because the alternative sucks,” Louie said, pulling Dewey out of the alcove. He shut the forcefield behind them. “We’ll come back when we have answers.”

Della smiled. “I know you will.”

* * *

“Walk me through this,” Fenton said.

Gyro sighed, leaning against the table. “I can’t. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

“Look around the lab,” Fenton said. “Figure it out, _doctor_.”

“I’m not that kind of doctor,” Gyro said. 

“Donald said something!” Fenton yelled. “He told you something, and so help me—”

“I did _not_ send the kid out of here so you could yell at me,” Gyro said. 

“Then why did you—?”

“Because what they’re going to do to _you_ is what they’re going to do to his _mother_!” Gyro yelled.

Fenton paused. “How do you figure?”

“Look around,” Gyro said. “You’re surrounded by prosthetic limbs. She’s an amputee. You have a Master’s in robotics, figure it out.”

“Okay, how do you figure _I’m_ going to get that?” Fenton asked.

“Because I put a hole in the back of your head!” Gyro said.

Fenton paused. “Huey did that. And if you’re right, I’m not going to blame him any more than I’d blame you.”

“Huey made you compatible with the suit,” Gyro said. “I did everything else. I can’t—”

“Oh, get your head out of your ass!” Fenton said. “Yes, you built a rocket and she lost her leg. Yes, you built a robot suit and put a computer in my head. But I am strapped to an alien operating table and _that_ has absolutely _nothing_ to do with you. You know what they’re going to do, so either tell me what it is or leave so they can do it already!”

Gyro paused. “I should have told you they were coming. We should have told all of you. We didn’t... we wanted to wait until after the wedding. We thought we had more time.”

“I know,” Fenton said. “But if you want to help then just tell me what I’m still doing here.”

“Donald... he said they _fix_ people,” Gyro said. “They’ll turn you into one of them.”

Fenton exhaled. “That’s what I was afraid of. Okay, I need you to do something.”

“No,” Gyro said. “I know what you’re going to say, I’m not—”

“They don’t talk,” Fenton said.

“Wait, what?”

“When they attacked,” Fenton said. “They didn’t say anything. They didn’t coordinate, they didn’t acknowledge verbal communication. The one that brought me here had an _extremely_ limited vocabulary, _and_ it referred to itself in first-person plural. Thing is, verbal communication is an extremely efficient method of communication. If you share a language—”

“You can communicate directly,” Gyro said. “So what would you call more efficient than talking?”

“Direct neural link,” Fenton said. “Digital telepathy.”

“Like a hive mind?” Gyro asked.

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Fenton said. “Completely digitized, instantaneous communication. Using the ship as a hub to send commands to the drones when something needs to be done.”

Gyro shook his head. “I’m not gonna do it.”

“Gyro, I can interface with them!” Fenton said. “I just need your help!”

“You don’t know what that network will do to you,” Gyro said. “What kind of bugs it will put into your system— your _brain!_ That interface is in your _brain_ , Fenton, what do I have to do to make you realize how dangerous this is?”

“You won’t lose me—”

“ _I already did!_ ” 

Gyro turned away and sighed. Fenton closed his eyes.

“Gyro, you’re my brother,” Fenton said. “But I knew... I always knew. I didn’t want to... to—”

“To _what_?” Gyro asked, turning back around. “To _take advantage_?”

“It wouldn’t have been fair,” Fenton said. “To either of us. I was an _intern_ , you’re almost ten years older than me.”

Gyro sighed. “I know.”

“And I love him,” Fenton said. “I really do.”

“I know.” Gyro took off his glasses and cleaned them. “I’ve been... working on getting over you. Ever since you got engaged to that damn daredevil.”

Fenton snorted. “Like you’re the only one worried he’s gonna get himself killed.”

Gyro put his glasses back on. 

“So how do I do this?” he asked.

* * *

Drake collapsed into the co-pilot chair.

“That’s... insane,” he said.

“I know,” Donald said. “And I know I should have told you—”

“What are they going to do to Fenton?” Drake asked.

Donald paused. “You mean—”

“Are they going to turn him into one of those... cold-flames? Or...”

“I don’t know,” Donald said. “It’ll depend on whether or not Gyro can get to him first.”

“ _Gyro_ knows?” Drake said. “When did you have time to tell Gyro?”

“Right after he turned Uno on,” Donald said. “About a week ago.” 

“A week,” Drake said. “You knew for a _week_ that this would happen?”

“We didn’t think it was going to happen _today_ ,” Donald said. “If we could have... we wanted one more day. We wanted to give you today.”

“ _Gyro_ wanted to give _Fenton_ today,” Drake said, standing up. “Somehow, I doubt you fought for that.”

The ship lurched and the two fell over. Penumbra ran into the cockpit.

“What did you do to my ship?” she yelled.

Donald got up first. “We made it to the asteroid belt.”

Penumbra pulled on the stick to dodge the next asteroid flying at them. Drake scrambled to his feet.

“Slow down!” Donald said. “They won’t hit as hard.”

“No, we have to cut them off before they get back to the... mothership or whatever,” Drake said.

“Sorry, which of us has been to space before?” Donald asked.

“ _Both_ of you, get out of here!” Penumbra said. She turned on the ship intercom. “Lena, I need a shield around the ship.”

“Penny, look out!” Donald yelled.

The ship swerved to miss an asteroid hurling right towards the nose of the ship.

“Get out!” Penumbra yelled.

Donald and Drake went back to the others. Lena had her right hand on the floor, light shimmering under the crystal like it was full of liquid. She clutched her staff in her other hand. Her wings were folded behind her back. 

“Donald...” she said. “I can’t hold this for long.”

Donald knelt down in front of her. 

“Look at me,” he said. 

She looked up. He could see the sweat on her forehead.

“Okay, now close your eyes,” he said. “Picture the ship. Just the ship, no one else. Make yourself a part of it. It’s an extension of your arm, your legs.”

She closed her eyes. 

“Now breathe,” he said.

She exhaled and a pulse of energy flowed out of her hand. The ship steadied. 

“Okay, good,” Donald said. “Now hold that for the next hundred million kilometers.”

“What?!” she said.

“Shouldn’t take more than an hour,” Donald said. “And I’ll be right here.”

She closed her eyes and breathed slowly. 

Drake crossed his arms. “What happened to your magic anyways?”

“I gave it to her,” Donald said.

“You ever going to tell us why?” Drake asked.

“Someday,” Donald said. “When it’s safe.”

The light pulsed through Lena’s arm as she breathed.


	6. To Make Myself Believe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I'd like to make myself believe that planet earth turns slowly  
> It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep  
> 'Cause everything is never as it seems"  
> — Owl City, "Fireflies"

Violet sat on the roof of McDuck Manor, looking up at the night sky. Huey sat next to her, checking the astronomy section of the Junior Woodchuck Guidebook. 

“Jupiter is somewhere in Sagittarius,” Huey said. “Near the teapot... there!”

He pointed up to a bright spot in the sky. 

“That’s where they are,” he breathed. “All of them.”

“Lena will get them back,” Violet said. 

“That’s a lot to put on someone who’s barely 14,” Huey said. 

Violet paused. “She’s not 14.”

“...I know,” Huey said. “But I know she likes feeling that she’s the same as us.”

Violet nodded. “It’s gotten harder. Since the arm. And the wings.”

“I can imagine,” Huey said. 

“Our dads still treat her normal,” Violet said. “But, I mean... she’s got wings and a magic arm!”

Huey shrugged. “I’ve never been an only child. I can’t imagine what it’d be like to go from that to suddenly having a sibling. Especially one like Lena.”

“I don’t know,” Violet said. “Before I met Lena and Webbigail, I never realised how... _lonely_ I was. Now I can barely get a minute to myself.”

Huey laughed. “Yeah, Dewey gets like that sometimes, too. He calls it ‘Only Child Day’, and he’s kind of obnoxious about it sometimes, but we all need time for ourselves.”

“It’s been a bit easier since she started dating Gosalyn,” Violet said.

“So they really are dating?” Huey said.

“Yeah,” Violet said. “Our dads are supportive, but I know they’re worried.”

“Why didn’t you leave with them?” Huey asked. “During the evacuation?”

“Same reason you didn’t leave when Scrooge offered to send you to stay with your cousin Gladstone,” Violet said, looking back up at the sky. “I need to be _here_.”

Huey looked down at the guidebook. “Yeah, that’s why I stayed.”

“Oy!” Scrooge yelled up at them from the ground. “Get down from there before ye fall and break something!”

“Yes, Uncle Scrooge,” they both said.

Violet stood up and offered Huey her hand. “Here, I’ll help.”

He took her hand and they jumped down. Violet used her magic to slow them down and give them a soft landing. She went back inside. Huey hugged his book against his chest.

“Uncle Scrooge?” he said. “You’d let me know if I can’t help, right?”

Scrooge sighed. “It’s natural to feel helpless at a time like this. I know that there are some things that even all the money in the world can’t solve.”

“But Louie would have some sort of plan, or scheme,” Huey said. “And Dewey is braver than everyone, except maybe Webby. Normally, I’m doing research, analysis. What do I research, when we don’t have any records of what these things even are?”

Scrooge paused. “Perhaps _we_ don’t, but... I think it’s time you met Klara.”

* * *

Dewey and Gosalyn ran down the hall, Louie trailing after, dragging Webby with him by the hand. They got to a corner and stopped.

“We’ve _been_ this way!” Gosalyn said.

“All these hallways look the same,” Dewey said. “How do you know we’ve been here?”

She picked up a piece of plastic from the ground.

“My heel broke last time around,” she said.

“So what now?” Louie asked, trying to catch his breath.

“I thought you had a plan!” Dewey yelled.

“I _said_ it didn’t have a lot of details!” Louie yelled. He sighed. “There’s _got_ to be a map of this place somewhere.”

“Why?” Gosalyn asked. “Do you have a map of the houseboat? Or the Sunchaser?”

“No, but those are a lot smaller,” Louie said. “A ship this big is bound to have some sort of directory, if only for other _things_ to find where they’re going.”

“That still doesn’t _help_ though,” Dewey said. “Then we’re just running around looking for a _map_ to the ship we got lost in.”

“I know, just let me think!” Louie put his hands to his forehead and shut his eyes. 

Webby looked at her hand, blinked, and started to walk away from the group. Dewey reached out to catch her.

“Webby, don’t—”

“Wait.” Louie cut him off. “She might actually know something.”

The kids followed Webby through the halls to a door. The room behind it got very dark when the door shut behind them, the only light coming from a small strip of cold, blue light near the ceiling, and rows of large cylinders with frosted glass doors along the walls. The room extended far beyond what they could make out in the low light.

“What is this?” Dewey asked.

“It’s _cold_ ,” Gosalyn said, rubbing her arms. 

Louie took off his jacket and put it over her shoulders. Dewey followed Webby as she approached one of the cylinders. The glass door was open and it was empty. She climbed in and stood inside of it as the door closed. 

“Webby!” Dewey ran forward and beat on the glass, but couldn’t open it. 

Inside, Webby closed her eyes. The pink flames around her head went out, and a series of tubes attached to her temples and chest. Pulses of pink light moved up the tubes, away from her. There was a loud hiss and the cylinder filled with gas as ice crystals formed on the outside of the door. Dewey staggered back.

“What _was_ that?” he asked. 

Gosalyn looked around at the other cylinders.

“Louie, help me up.”

She climbed on Louie’s shoulders and they approached one of the other cylinders. She wiped the ice off the glass and looked inside.

She screamed.

Louie stumbled back and Gosalyn fell off of him. Dewey ran to catch her.

“What was it?” Louie asked. “What did you see?”

“I... it...” Tears rolled down her face. “ _Launchpad._ He was just like Webby, all black and stuff.”

“No!” Dewey put Gosalyn down and ran over to the cylinder, trying to climb up it. The slick surface gave him no traction.

Louie looked around the room. 

“There must be... _dozens_ of these,” he breathed. “Who would _do_ this?”

“I don’t know if we can fix this,” Gosalyn said.

Dewey dropped to the floor. 

“We have to,” he said. “We don’t know if anyone’s coming. And even if they do, we don’t know if that will be enough to save them.”

Dewey walked over to Gosalyn and helped her up. 

“So _we_ have to be enough,” he said. “We’ll take this back to Gyro and Fenton. Maybe they can help us, maybe they can’t, but at least one of them can carry Mom and we will stick together. We have to take this ship and get back home. We have to tell people what’s coming.”

“There’s a _lot_ of variables on this one,” Louie said. “I don’t know if I can—”

“If _anyone_ can see the angles, it’s you,” Dewey said. “They’re going to do this to _everyone_ if we can’t stop them.”

Gosalyn sniffed, shivering under Louie’s jacket.

“C’mon Gos,” he said. “We can Dewey this.”

Gosalyn shook her head. “What if we can’t?”

“Well, like Louie said earlier,” Dewey said. “The alternative sucks. We just have to hope.”

Gosalyn exhaled, her breath starting to condense in the air.

“Okay,” she said. “But let’s get out of here before we freeze.”

* * *

Fenton sat up after Gyro untied him from the table. Gyro searched the drawers for supplies. He tied up Fenton’s hair with a clamp to get a clear view of the port. 

“You’re sure about this?” Gyro asked. “Cause I’m not sure I can undo it once it’s done.”

“I’m sure,” Fenton said, nodding. 

“Right, please don’t do that while I have a scalpel in your head,” Gyro said. 

“I _have_ done this before.”

“Just...” Gyro sighed and closed his eyes. “Stay still.”

Gyro unscrewed the plate from the back of Fenton’s head. He gently slid the blade of the scalpel under the plate and popped it off of the skull. He looked inside the hole.

“Do you have your knife on you?” Gyro asked.

“No, I gave it to Louie.” 

Gyro sighed. “Guess I’m looking for a flashlight. Can you hold this?”

Fenton took the dangling pport from Gyro as he searched the drawers for a light. 

“This is brain surgery, so... You want to start, or...?” Gyro trailed off.

“My name is Fenton Robert Manuel Crackshell-Cabrera,” Fenton started. “I was born in Duckburg on March 26th, 1991. My mother’s name is Gloria Cabrera, my father’s name—”

“Found it!” Gyro pulled out what looked like a pen light. He tapped a button and a small bulb at the end lit up. He walked back to Fenton and looked inside. 

“Okay, I’m detaching the port from the base,” he said. 

He reached in with the scalpel and pulled the port out. Fenton gasped when it disconnected. 

“Still with me?” Gyro asked.

“Yeah,” Fenton said. 

“Name?”

“Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera.”

“Date of birth?”

“March 26, ‘91.”

“Okay,” Gyro said. “Husband’s name?”

“Drake Mallard,” Fenton said, laughing softly. “It’s going to take a bit more than that.”

“I know,” Gyro said. “Just... don’t want you to forget.”

“Right,” Fenton said quietly.

Gyro picked up the device that seemed to fit the best for what they wanted— an eye attachment that went around the head and sat on the back of the skull. Gyro had already found the wire that would mount to Fenton’s interface. He put the device on Fenton. It completely covered the hole in the back of his skull, curved around the side of his head, and covered his right eye. 

“Is that comfortable?” he asked. “Can you see?”

“It’s fine,” Fenton said.

Gyro nodded. “Okay.”

Gyro attached the wire to the device’s mount and moved the other one inside the skull. He used a pair of what looked like forceps to guide the end of it to Fenton’s interface and plug it in. He mounted the device on Fenton’s head and stepped back.

“Fenton?” he asked. “Full name?”

“Fenton Robert Manu— ah!”

Fenton winced, clawing at the attachment. Gyro grabbed his wrists and pinned him to the table. 

“Come on, you can do this,” Gyro said. “Date of birth.”

“March 26, nineteen-ninety...”

Fenton’s uncovered eye closed and his breathing slowed. Gyro saw something pooling under the attachment and touched it. The blood started rolling down Fenton’s face like tears.

“Oh, god,” Gyro said. “What did I do?”

Fenton’s eye snapped open and he screamed.

* * *

Drake came back to the common area from the cockpit. 

“We’re out of the belt,” he said.

Lena released the shield, collapsing on the floor, breathing heavily. Donald put a hand on her shoulder. 

“Good job, kiddo,” he said. 

“Donald,” Drake said. “There’s something you should see.”

Donald went with Drake back to the cockpit. Up on the viewscreen was Jupiter, its moons spinning slowly around it. In the midst of it all, Donald saw a shape that made his heart drop.

“It’s a _cube_ ,” Drake said. 

“Sure,” Donald said. “It’s supposed to be a station— built in space, works in space. If it never breaks atmo, why does it need to be aerodynamic?”

“I guess,” Drake said.

“Of course, that also doesn’t mean it can’t,” Donald said. Drake rolled his eyes.

“There’s a bigger problem,” Penumbra said, adjusting the controls. The viewscreen magnified the cube and they saw the ship they’d been chasing as it docked in the cube.

“This just got a lot more difficult,” Donald said.

“What’s in there?” Drake asked.

“An erigus.”

The three turned around as Uno wheeled into the cockpit. 

“There’s one in every cube,” he said. “Your friends are going to be taken to it, if they haven’t been made into coolflames already.”

“What is it going to do?” Drake asked.

“It’s going to operate on them and turn them into Evronian drones,” Donald said quietly. “Fenton and Della first, then the rest of them.”

“Why them first?” Drake asked.

“Because of their prosthetics,” Donald said, sighing. “From their perspective... someone’s already started the job.”

Drake looked out at the cube, which looked like a massive jumble of steel pipes and plating. Green lights blinked on and off on all sides of it. 

“How do we get in?” Drake asked.

“Are you _insane_?” Penumbra asked. “Even if I could jam the signal to cover us, there’s no point to breach, look at this—”

She brought up a scan on the viewscreen. 

“There’s no engineering section, no storage, no living quarters,” she said. “Anything that even remotely looks like a specialised area is at the dead center, surrounded by corridors absolutely _crawling_ with drones. We’ll get caught. _Immediately_.”

Drake paused. “What if that was the plan?” 


	7. The Things I Can't Repair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Now that you're gone  
> I feel like myself again  
> Grieving the things I can’t repair and willing"  
> — Evanescence, "Lacrymosa (Synthesis)"

Scrooge took Huey down to the JDI headquarters. Mrs. Beakley was looking over a huge stack of files with another duck, whose gray hair was pulled back into a tight bun.

“Huey, this is Klara von Drake, current head of SHUSH and an old friend of Beakley’s,” Scrooge said. “Klara, this is Huey, Della’s oldest.”

“Very good,” Klara said. She had a sharp, continental accent. She moved the top third of the stack of files down in front of an empty chair. “Would you like to get started?”

“What am I looking for?” Huey asked, sitting down.

“Your uncle was the first to make contact with the Evronians,” Mrs. Beakley said. “His partner was SHUSH specialist Everett Ducklair.”

“The inventor?” Huey said.

“Exactly,” Klara said. “Both he and Agent PK left extensive notes and reports.”

“We need to find anything that will help us guard against this invasion,” Mrs. Beakley said. 

“I’ll leave you to it, then,” Scrooge said.

“There’s plenty for you too, Scrooge,” Klara said.

“Aye, I’m sure,” he said. “But we’ve finally got the city evacuated, so Morgana and Violet are putting up the shield soon.”

“Very well,” Klara said. 

Scrooge left, and Huey looked up from the file he was holding. 

“Uncle Donald did all of this?” he asked.

“Your uncle is incredibly brave,” Klara said. “Or incredibly stupid. Either way, he’s been a very valuable asset to SHUSH.”

“Now, Klara,” Mrs. Beakley said. “There’s no reason he can’t be both brave and stupid.”

“Uncle Donald is _amazing_ ,” Huey said forcefully. 

The other two paused. 

“Yes,” Mrs. Beakley said. “Yes, I do believe he is.”

Huey read over reports of drones and coolflames and advanced technology from beyond the solar system. Ducklair’s notes were precise, meticulous, but had an airy detachment that unsettled Huey as he read.

_‘...the head of the ‘coolflame’, as my associate has taken to calling them, is wreathed in a colored flame that suggests that the body of the prisoner afflicted with this condition is soaked in some kind of metallic salt solution. The colors are not uniform, a subject of inquiry that my associate refuses to follow. A proper autopsy of the creatures would provide a much more thorough understanding of their nature, but Agent PK has been loath to provide the necessary materials...’_

“Necessary materials...” Huey muttered. “Bodies?”

“Perhaps you should stick to your uncle’s reports,” Klara said. “Ducklair’s writing is quite dense and—”

“I _understand_ what he’s saying,” Huey said. “But these were _people_ . Some of the stuff Uncle Donald wrote said there was a way to _fix_ them.”

“Agent PK was convinced that even full assimilation as a drone could be reversed with the right understanding,” Klara said. “Ducklair was a bit more of a realist.”

“There _has_ to be a way to fix them,” Huey said. “My brothers are up there, my _mom_ is up there.”

“Klara and I aren’t scientists,” Mrs. Beakley said.

“But neither is...” Huey paused. He got up from the table and started running out.

“Huey, where are you going?” Mrs. Beakley said. 

“Uncle Donald didn’t just work with Everett Ducklair,” Huey said. “You’re digging in the wrong place!”

* * *

The kids ran down a hall lined with empty alcoves. Gosalyn turned a corner and ran straight into Gyro, who nearly fell over on impact. 

“Dr. Gearloose!” Dewey said. “Something happened to Webby and Launchpad.”

Gosalyn helped Gyro to his feet, looking at the blood on his shirt and hands. There were bruises forming on his neck, and a gash under his eye.

“Gyro,” she said quietly. “Where’s Fenton?”

She could see that his eyes were red, that he’d been crying.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m so sorry.”

Gosalyn stepped back. “No...”

Gyro looked behind him. 

“We need to get into one of these cells,” he said, lowering the nearest force field. 

“What?” Louie said. “Why?”

“Because the ship just docked,” Gyro said. “And I’m not leaving you alone.”

The sound of steps echoed down the hall and Gyro ushered the kids into the empty alcove, turning on the forcefield as he went in. 

“What happened to Fenton?” Gosalyn asked.

Gyro shook his head. “I... I can’t. I’m sorry, I...”

A tear looked down his face as he looked away. 

“I didn’t know.”

Gosalyn pulled Louie’s jacket tight around her shoulders. 

“You _killed_ him,” she whispered.

Gyro didn’t respond. He couldn’t look her in the eye.

“I’m sorry...”

“Della said you wouldn’t let anything happen to him!” she yelled. “Della said he’d be safe!”

“I don’t know why she’d say that,” Gyro said. “I don’t... I don’t know why she’d think I’m like that.”

“I don’t either,” she spat at him. 

“We don’t have time for this,” Louie said. “If we’ve docked, that means we arrived somewhere.”

“And?” Dewey said.

“That means people are getting off the ship,” Louie said. “Fewer of these drones and fire-head things. It’ll be easier to take the ship.”

“Us and what army?” Gosalyn asked. “Do you even know how to fly a spaceship?”

“Mom does,” Louie said. “We have to get back to her.”

The Webby-shade walked by their cell and stopped to look at them. She held out her hand.

“Go away!” Gosalyn yelled. “Just go away...”

“Wait,” Louie said. “Look at her wrist.”

“What about her..?” Gosalyn’s eyes widened when she looked down. There was a blue ring around her wrist where Webby’s friendship bracelet should have been. 

“No way...” Dewey said. 

Webby let the forcefield down and held her hand out to Gosalyn. Gosalyn took her hand. 

“Nothing’s happening,” she said.

“Maybe someone else needs to do it,” Louie said. “I don’t get how the magic...”

“ _Lena_ ,” the kids said at once.

“What if that’s not the only thing she can fix?” Gosalyn asked. 

Dewey and Louie looked at eachother. 

“The alternative sucks,” Louie said. “Let’s go with it.”

Webby pulled at Gosalyn’s hand to lead her down the hall. Louie went after them. Dewey looked up at Gyro, whose eyes were hollow as he looked at the rusted blood on his hands.

“Come on,” Dewey said. “You might be the spy, but I was raised by Donald Duck. We can survive anything.”

Gyro sighed. “All right.”

* * *

If Della Duck had a nickel for every time she’d woken up strapped to an operating table, she would have ten cents, which is not a lot but it was kind of weird that it was happening for a second time. She looked around as much as she could, but the light was dim, save for a scant amount of cold, blue light from recessed panels on the walls, which were filled with prosthetic limbs. There was another table next to her and she could just make out that Fenton was lying on it.

“Fenton,” she said. “Fen. Gizmoduck! C’mon man...”

He was out or he was ignoring her. Neither bode well for Della. 

The soft sound of an automatic door told her that someone entered the room. 

“Who’s there?” she asked.

Something shorter than the Evronians she’d seen before walked to her side.

“You are... conscious,” it said. “Curious.”

“Who are you?” she asked.

She could make out a high forehead and round face. Where its hairline should have been was replaced with glass and she could see mechanical augments attached to a very real-looking brain. Its eyes glowed red and instead of hands, it had rotating selections of surgical tools.

“I am Erigus.”

“Erigus,” she repeated. “Why am I here?”

“The collective has identified you as... incomplete,” it said. “Incompatible with your assistive device.”

“I’ve been using this leg for over ten years,” Della said. “I think I’m compatible enough.”

“It is not mounted properly,” Erigus said, removing her prosthetic. “It does not move.”

“It works just fine,” she said. “Now let me go.”

“However, I must triage,” it said. “The other has... chosen poorly. Attempted to access the collective from outside. This must be corrected.”

Della looked over and realized that Fenton’s right eye was covered by Evronian tech, rusted blood sticking to the feathers on the side of his face and staining the tech.

“I must complete the process and correct the error,” Erigus said, turning Fenton’s head over to inspect the damage. The bloodstains continued onto the back of his head. “Or he will be lost.”

“He’s... dying?” Della asked.

“He has ceased optimal functioning,” Erigus said. “But he can be repaired.”

“No.” Della strained against her bonds. “No, you’re not _touching_ him.”

“It was wise for the other one to lock him in the lab aboard the scout ship,” it continued. “He would have been killed otherwise. He could not save this one.”

“Couldn’t save...” Della paused. “What will save him?”

“I am Erigus of Evron,” it said. It started to remove the attachment on Fenton’s head. Della turned away— whatever the damage was, she was certain she wouldn’t be able to unsee it if she looked. She heard what sounded like a power drill hitting bone.

“Resistance is futile,” Erigus said. “Your life as it has been is over. From this time forward, you will service us.”

* * *

Drake stood behind Donald and Penumbra in the cockpit as the ship approached the cube. 

“Am I going... what if they already..?” Drake sighed. 

“Are you trying to ask if you’re going to have to kill your husband?” Donald asked. “Worried you’re gonna pull your punches?”

“When my family puts people down, they stay down,” Drake said. “I’m worried I can’t.”

“You’re not gonna hurt them,” Donald said. “Not in any way that counts.”

“Can we bring them back?” Drake asked.

Donald paused. “I don’t know.”

A green light encased the ship and it lurched. Drake held on to the headrests to keep from falling over.

“Tractor beam,” Penumbra said. 

“Get us out of it,” Donald said. 

“I thought—”

“Just fight it!” Donald said. 

Penumbra pulled at the controls and Drake toppled over. 

“I can’t get out of it,” she said. “If I fight anymore, we won’t have enough fuel for the trip back.”

“That’s fine,” Drake said, getting back up. “We only needed it to look like we were fighting.”

“I don’t like this,” Penumbra said.

“We know,” Donald and Drake said.

The ship was pulled into one of the docking bays of the cube. Drake looked to Donald.

“Is this..?”

“I don’t know,” Donald said. “Better suit up.”

Drake put his mask on. Penumbra put on her helmet. 

Outside the tractor beam, Lena held on to Gandra by the waist. Gandra had altered her nanosuits to provide helmets and seal against the vacuum. Lena’s wings were spread out, completely still in the vacuum. Even when she tried to beat them, she couldn’t move. 

“This is _not_ like air,” Lena said. 

“So I lied a _little_ ,” Gandra said. “Your wings are magic, can’t you figure it out?”

“I’m not a scientist! You figure out how to fly in space!” Lena yelled.

“Do kids not learn about Newton anymore?” Gandra asked. 

Gandra rubbed her hands together and let her nanites build up an electric charge. She threw her hands back and let the charge go, throwing the two of them towards the cube. Lena fanned out her wings just in time to stop them from colliding with the cube. 

“See,” Gandra said. “Magic wings, defying physics. We should have gone right into that wall.”

“Thanks,” Lena said. 

“Okay, kid, let’s get in this thing,” Gandra said.

Gandra pushed them towards the docking bay in small pulses. They got to the edge of the opening.

“Wait,” Lena said. 

They could see Penumbra's ship in the bay and drones escorting Darkwing, Paperinik, and Penumbra towards the interior of the cube.

“Okay,” Lena said. “We’re clear.”

They landed in the bay and disengaged their helmets. Uno rolled out of the ship.

“They’re gone,” Uno said. “They... they took PK.”

“They were supposed to,” Gandra said. 

“We’re going to get him back,” Lena said. “All of them.”

Uno rung his hands and looked towards where the Evronians took Donald.

“I wanted to _stop_ this,” Uno said quietly. “He helped me kill myself to stop this.”

Gandra paused. “I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t mean it,” Uno said. “None of you did.”

“We gotta find a map of this place,” Lena said. 

“It’s over here.”

Uno wheeled over to a computer panel in the wall. He opened his hand and a docking cable came out. He stuck it in a computer port. 

“A map would be part of the computer system,” Uno explained. “The CPU tells the drones where to go and it needs a map... to... oh no.”

“What is it?” Gandra asked.

“He’s here,” Uno said.

“Who?” Lena asked.

Uno sighed. “The head of the hive.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so late in the day! Had some work stuff to deal with.


	8. Blood on a Marble Wall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Count my cards, watch them fall  
> Blood on a marble wall  
> I like the way they all  
> Scream"  
> — Billie Eilish, "you should see me in a crown"

The elevators to the lab opened and Mallory looked up from her work.

“Jon?” she said.

Huey ran into the lab and Det. Falco stepped out of the elevator behind him. 

“Hey, Mal,” Det. Falco said. 

“Everything okay?” she asked. 

“Yeah, the kid just said he needed a ride to the Money Bin,” he said. “I didn’t even know this thing was down here— this place really is underwater, huh?”

“Gyro picked it,” Mallory said. “Though he’s been thinking about moving to an active volcano.”

“Not sure I’m a fan,” Det. Falco said. “It doesn’t seem safe.”

“We’re mad scientists,” Mallory said, shrugging. “Safety isn’t necessarily a priority.”

Huey turned on the supercomputer and started typing on the keyboard.

“So what are you looking for?” Mallory asked.

“In his reports to SHUSH, Uncle Donald swore there was a way to reverse certain things that the Evronians do to people,” Huey said. “But he and Ducklair didn’t know the process of how they were created in the first place. Ducklair wanted to reverse-engineer the process through autopsy.”

“And I’m guessing Donald didn’t like that option,” Det. Falco said.

“I don’t know what my brothers would think,” Huey said. “I know I don’t... I wouldn’t think any less of him if he did.”

Det. Falco looked to Mallory, who closed here eyes.

“Uno was from Evron,” Huey continued. “If Evron really is a collective intelligence, that means he would have had access to the processes.”

Huey entered something into the supercomputer and there was a loud click, followed by a slowly rising whir. A light came on over the terminal and projected a hologram into the center of the platform.

“Did you do that?” Det. Falco asked.

“I didn’t even know I _could_ do that,” Huey admitted.

The hologram showed two people arguing with each other. One was a short duck in a pinstripe suit, with a receding hairline marked by a prominent widow’s peak. The other Huey recognized as a young Donald, wearing a flannel and a faded t-shirt for a grunge band Huey could never remember the name of. The hologram was completely silent.

“That’s your uncle,” Det. Falco said. “Who’s he fighting with?”

“That’s Everett Ducklair,” Mallory said. “I remember when he disappeared— there were about a dozen different conspiracies.”

“His file went cold almost 20 years ago,” Det. Falco said. “What do you think happened to him?”

“Nothing good. Let me get the sound,” Huey said, turning back to the terminal. He entered a line of code and the speakers started up.

“ _—explain the scientific method to you again?_ ” Ducklair asked.

“ _These were_ people, _Everett,_ ” Donald said. “ _We can’t_ save _them if they’re dead!_ ”

“ _Logic_ clearly _dictates—_ ”

“ _That’s an ethos of self-sacrifice,_ ” Donald countered. “ _Not pragmatic morality._ ”

“ _Um, guys?_ ” Uno’s voice came from nowhere, but the image moved as he spoke. “ _They’re coming back._ ”

Donald turned and walked out of the image as it fuzzed out. It was replaced by one of Paperinik sitting on a ledge.

“ _They just keep coming,_ ” Paperinik sighed. “ _I can barely handle a few scouts, how would I even begin to fight an invasion?_ ”

“ _You said SHUSH was planning on making a team,_ ” Uno’s voice said. “ _Maybe that will help._ ”

“ _Maybe SHUSH was wrong,_ ” Paperinik said. “ _About me, about the JDI._ ”

“ _I think you’re a hero,_ ” Uno insisted. 

Paperinik smiled. “ _You’re just about the only one who does._ ”

The image fuzzed out again and reformed with Ducklair at a lab bench.

“ _What’cha working on, doc?_ ” Uno’s voice asked, as the image swung around to the other side of Ducklair.

“ _I do not have a doctorate,_ ” Ducklair said in an even voice. “ _Go away._ ”

“ _Just wanted to tell you that PK is on his way up,_ ” Uno said.

Ducklair sighed. “ _The naive idiot should go back to his wealth and safety._ ”

“ _He said that he’s broke,_ ” Uno said. “ _That his uncle is the one who’s rich._ ”

“ _That’s what all rich kids say,_ ” Ducklair said. “ _I’m going to pull something if I roll my eyes any harder._ ”

“ _What are we rolling our eyes at?_ ” Donald asked, leaning into frame.

“ _You,_ ” Ducklair said. “ _Now if you please, I am trying to examine the scraps of technology that you deign to bring me so that I can try to keep you from getting yourself killed by alien invaders._ Go away.”

Donald gently shoulder checked Ducklair and stepped back.

“ _C’mon Uno,_ ” Donald said. “ _Let’s let him work._ ”

The image fuzzed out again, this time replaced by Paperinik looking completely beaten down. His costume was torn, and he was bruised worse than Huey had ever seen him. Ducklair knelt next to him. Donald stared down at his hands.

“ _How is this possible?_ ” he muttered.

“ _Donald, it’s okay,_ ” Ducklair said. “ _You’re okay._ ”

“ _I shouldn’t be,_ ” Donald said. “ _I should be..._ ”

“ _When we started,_ ” Ducklair said. “ _You said you had worked with magic before._ ”

“ _I locked it away,_ ” Donald hissed. “ _I don’t want anything to do with it._ ”

“ _I don’t think you have a choice,_ ” Ducklair said. “ _They tried to turn you into one of those... Coolflames, you call them? I think it was your magic that saved you. I think it’s your magic that’s been saving you all this time._ ”

“ _What?_ ” Donald asked.

“ _I’ve watched you take so much punishment,_ ” Ducklair said. “ _Things that would kill any other man. And you heal faster than any science could explain. You might not want anything to do with your magic, but it’s saved your life tonight._ ”

Donald sighed. “ _How?_ ”

“ _From what I understand, these coolflames are created by the Evronians draining their emotional energy,_ ” Ducklair said. “ _When we saw this happen last time, it took... minutes. You were hooked up to that thing for an hour, and it didn’t do anything. I think it was attacking your magic, which replenished faster than they could drain it._ ”

“ _And until they drained my magic, they couldn’t get at the rest of me,_ ” Donald said. “ _They’ll get more efficient. They’ll figure out a way to do it._ ”

“ _Let’s hope they don’t,_ ” Ducklair said.

The images faded as the projector turned off. Huey stepped back. 

“Magic,” Huey said. “We heal them with magic.”

“And how the hell do we do that?” Det. Falco asked.

“ _We_ don’t,” Huey said.

* * *

Webby led Gyro and the kids through the halls of the Cube.

The fog in Gyro’s brain started to clear. He could feel his eyes burn as his glasses fogged up. 

“Where is everyone?” he breathed.

Webby opened a door to a lab, larger than the one on the ship. Gyro paused at the entrance. He could see there was someone on one of the tables.

_Fenton’s eye snapped open and he screamed._

“Mom!” Dewey yelled. He and his brother ran past Gyro, over to her. Louie shook her arm.

“She’s not waking up,” Louie said. 

Gyro forced himself in, walking over to Della. Her leg had been replaced, the new one obviously Evronian. He felt for a pulse.

“She’s alive,” Gyro said. “They sedated her. Someone find her leg.”

“It’s over here,” Louie said, picking it up out of what looked like a trash bin.

Gyro removed Della’s restraints and picked her up. 

“We gotta get her out of here,” he said. “Webby, is there someplace where she’d be safe?”

Webby looked at Della, then looked up to Gyro and nodded.

“Take us there.”

Webby led them down to a docking bay. Gyro blinked. 

“The Spear of Selene?” he said. 

“It says ‘ _Iremias_ ’ on the nose,” Gosalyn said.

“I...” He held tightly to Della. “No, not there. Anywhere but there.”

“Isn’t _Iremias_ Penny’s ship?” Dewey asked.

“Yeah,” Louie said. “But why would she be here?”

“Donald,” Gosalyn said. “Penny’s your mom’s friend from the moon, right? They came for us!”

“Then where are they?” Louie asked.

“Kid, don’t—!” Gyro yelled, but Louie was already on board. 

He stuck his head out. “Ship’s empty.”

“We can’t just stand here,” Gosalyn said. “Did the aliens take him?”

“Him?” Dewey asked.

“Them, I meant them,” she said.

“I’m gonna leave Mom’s leg on the ship,” Louie said.

Della stirred. “Hn..?”

“Don’t move,” Gyro said. He laid her on the floor. 

“What... _Gyro_?” she said.

“Does your leg still hurt?” Gosalyn asked.

“No, I...” Della looked down at her leg. “That thing really did it.”

“Your leg was hurting?” Gyro asked. 

“Phantom limb,” she said. “Probably something about micro-gravity or whatever.”

Gyro sighed. “Can you stand?”

“Let’s see,” she said. 

He helped her up to her feet. She looked unsteady and stumbled right into him as she tried to walk. 

“It’s okay, I got you,” he said quietly.

“I can do this,” she said.

She stepped back and took a deep breath. She stepped forward, then again, then again.

“I think I got it,” she said. 

“Good,” Gyro said. “You said... you said, ‘that thing’?”

“It called itself ‘Erigus’,” she said. “It... oh, god, Fenton.”

Gyro looked away. “I’m sorry. I knew I shouldn’t, but he thought it would help—”

“He said you couldn’t save him,” she said. “That you would have died.”

“I should have,” he said. “It should have been me.”

“Where’s Fenton now?” Gosalyn asked. “Is he alive?”

Della sighed. “That’s... a complicated question.”

“Hey, look!” Dewey had wandered over to a computer panel on the wall of the docking bay. Della and Gyro walked over to him. 

“Someone was looking at a map of this place,” Della said. 

“Where do you think they took Uncle Donald?” Dewey asked. 

She scanned through the image before Gyro pointed at the screen. 

“There,” he said. “They would have taken them there.”

“You’re sure?” she asked. 

“No,” Gyro said. “But I know that name.”

Dewey looked back at the screen as the name ‘Evron’ flashed in the center of the Cube.

“Kids, you stay here,” Della said.

“I’m going with you,” Gosalyn said. “My dads are down there, I know it.”

Della sighed. “Dewey, you and your brother get on the ship.”

“But—”

“No,” Della said. “I am not having this argument with you, Dewford.”

“Come one,” Louie said. “We’ll get the ship ready so we can leave as soon as you’re back.”

“Good.” She looked to Gyro. “Are you in?”

Gyro paused. “Yeah.”

“Let’s go.”

* * *

Donald was thrown at the feet of an Evronian twice as tall as the drones, dressed in red robes and a crimson cape, sitting in a backless throne. On the alien’s chest was a face that looked smugly down at Donald, silent. Instead of a neck, a long, prehensile tail wound its way around the alien’s torso. The head at the end of the tail had massive horns that curled above a second, expressionless face with one, massive, mechanical eye. The second face spoke in a quiet, computerized voice that grated against Donald’s eardrums.

“Did you think I would not find you?” Emperor Evron asked. “Paperinik?”

Donald looked up and sneered. “Go to hell.”

“All in due time.” The emperor’s tail unwrapped from around him, bringing his head down so it was just above Donald’s face. “All in due time, old friend.”

“I’m not your friend, Evron,” Donald said. “You _murdered_ my friend.”

Evron’s tail pulled back. “On the contrary. I simply allowed him to reach his full potential.”

Drake was towards the back of the throne room, a drone’s arm around his neck, his hands bound behind his back. Penumbra was held captive next to him.

“Who is this guy?” Drake muttered.

The face on Evron’s chest snarled. His tail shot his head up to look over Donald.

“You will speak when spoken to!” Evron’s voice distorted with the rise in volume and echoed in the chamber. 

His head came down as his tail started to slowly circle around Donald.

“You should not have brought them with you,” Evron said, his voice quiet again.

“You didn’t give me a _choice_ ,” Donald said.

“There was a woman in the erigus' lab earlier,” Evron said. “I believe, your sister?”

A panicked look shot across Penumbra’s face.

Donald paused, not reacting. “What did you do to her?”

“The erigus was called away,” Evron said. “A recent conversion needed repairs. I was only able to replace her missing appendage.”

Penumbra exhaled, but Drake’s heart dropped.

“ _Recent_ conversion?” Donald asked. “There isn’t a habited system near enough for you to _have_ recent conversions.”

“Fenton,” Drake said. He inhaled sharply, remembering Evron’s warning.

Evron’s head snaked over to look at Drake.

“I do not abide well, impertinence,” Evron said. “You think yourself on the level of gods, simply because you put on a mask and a cape? In all my time, that hardly ever works.”

“What did you do to Fenton?” Drake asked in a measured voice.

“I corrected an error,” Evron said. “He thought himself clever— trying to access my thoughts without my knowledge. The damage he did to himself was... severe.”

Drake struggled against the drone holding him captive. Evron moved in closer.

“Do you think you were his last burst of conscious thought?” Evron asked. “Do you wish it? Do you wish to know his pain, this... Fenton?”

Drake could feel his eyes burn. The drone’s arm tightened around his neck.

“I didn’t think you knew their names,” Donald said.

“Of course,” Evron said. “Their thoughts are my thoughts. In my mind, extended across the galaxy, are the names of millions. They melt away the longer they are joined with me, until they have become one with my collective.”

“How could you be so calm about this?” Drake asked Donald.

“Because Paperinik has gone through all of this once before,” Evron said. “Because he has already learned what you will learn soon— that resistance is... futile.”

Drake could feel the chokehold as his throat started to close. He went limp, gasping for air, and the drone loosened its grip.

“It is better this way,” Evron said to Donald. “Your friends will come to understand, as you have.”

“You torture and mutilate people, forcing your will on them,” Donald said. “Is that what I’m supposed to _understand_?”

Evron’s tail wrapped around Donald’s waist, picking him up and pulling him closer. The face on Evron’s chest had a sickening grin.

“I won’t give you the satisfaction,” Donald said.

Tubes snaked out of Evron’s torso, latching on to Donald at his temples and chest, wrapping around his arms and embedding themselves under his skin. He felt hooks piercing his muscles and skull. Evron’s tail tightened around Donald’s chest and he brought his head in close to Donald’s ear.

“Then you will give me your terror,” Evron said. 

Pulses of blue light moved up the tubes, away from Donald and into Evron. Donald cried out in agony. Evron inhaled sharply. 

“I have waited long for this moment,” Evron said. “My domination over the Duck Avenger.”

Drake and Penumbra struggled against their captors as Donald’s hands and feet started to turn black.

* * *

When Lena got to the server room, all she could really see was about a thousand boxes of blinking lights stacked in rows going on for forever. The room was filled with a whirring sound of fans as the computers overclocked themselves. She touched down and folded her wings behind her back. Gandra went to a terminal with Uno and turned on the screen. 

“This server is directly beneath the throne room,” Uno said. “It’s connected to the emperor’s mind and gives out orders across the empire.”

“There’s got to be something in the code I can mess with,” she said. “Drop a spike and cripple the whole thing.”

Uno paused. “Put me in.”

Gandra looked at him. “No, you’d get lost.”

“I’m Evronian,” Uno said. “I’m compatible with all the code and I can manipulate the computer to crash.”

“And you’d crash right along with it,” Gandra said. “Not happening.”

“You downloaded a back-up of me on your computer back on Earth,” Uno said. “Keep my hardware and reboot me when you get back.”

“We can barely _fit_ your code in the supercomputer,” Gandra said. “And what if something happens to your hardware? Just let me try it my way.”

“We don’t have time,” Uno said. “The longer we take, the more of a chance something terrible is going to happen to Donald and the others.”

“Um, guys?” Lena said. “This is just a really big computer, right?” 

“Bit of an understatement, but yeah,” Gandra said. 

“I think I have a better way,” she said, adjusting her grip on her staff. “You might want to step out.”

Gandra pulled Uno out of the server room. Yellow sigils appeared around Lena’s feet and started to glow and slowly spin. She lifted her staff.

“ _Thundara!_ ”

A surge of lightning shot out of her staff and hit the terminal, frying it. Lena lowered her staff and grinned. 

“Adults always overthink things,” she said.

“I guess that works,” Gandra said, rubbing her hands together. She stepped into the server room. “But let’s try a more surgical strike.”

Gandra put a hand on the closest terminal and electricity danced through the room, frying circuits. The whirring sound died down as the lights on the terminals blinked out. 

“The erigus will come to make repairs,” Uno said. “I’ll stand watch and disable him when he comes.”

“Right,” Gandra said. “Let’s go kid.”

Lena and Gandra left and Uno looked around at the dead server.

“PK might actually do it this time,” he said quietly.


	9. Know Who I Am

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I've seen your face before, my friend  
> But I don't know if you know who I am"  
> — Phil Collins, "In The Air Tonight"

Huey ran into the dining room at top speed. Scrooge and Capt. Cabrera stood over a map of the city that Arella and Petaris moved Risk pieces around on.

“Uncle Scrooge! Uncle Scrooge!” he said. “I gotta get a message to Penny!”

“Sorry, ‘Penny’?” Petaris asked. 

“General Penumbra,” Huey said. “I need to get a message to her ship.”

“What did you find, lad?” Scrooge asked. 

“Donald’s magic,” Huey said. “It kept the Evronian’s from turning him into something called a ‘coolflame’?” 

Scrooge looked to Petaris and Arella. Petaris shook his head.

“They drain people of their emotional energy and use it as fuel,” Petaris said. “You’re saying that _magic_ can stop it?”

“Magic isn’t something that’s physical,” Huey said. “Their technology couldn’t tell the difference.”

“And magic replenishes,” Scrooge said.

“Exactly,” Huey said. 

“So Donald’s immune, great,” Capt. Cabrera said. “What about the rest of them?”

“I’m wondering if the two are the same thing,” Huey asked.

Scrooge paused, thinking. 

“They’re not,” Scrooge said. “But I know who to ask. With me.”

Scrooge led Huey out to the courtyard, where Morgana and Violet were practicing offensive spells. 

“Miss Macawber!” Scrooge said. “Have a few questions for you.”

Morgana lowered her hands. “What kind of questions?”

“Can magic be used as a supplement or replacement for emotional energy?” Huey asked. “If it blocks energy draining, can it be used to reverse its effects?”

Morgana blinked. “Sorry, what?”

Scrooge sighed. “Might want to start from the beginning, lad.”

Huey took a deep breath. “One of the ways that these aliens take over people is by draining their emotional energy and using that as fuel for their ships and stuff. At least, I think that’s what they’re using it for. When Uncle Donald fought the Evronians years ago, they tried to do this to him.”

“They did _what_?” Scrooge said.

“It was, like, 20 years ago,” Huey said. “Anyway, they tried to drain him, but they couldn’t because what they ended up draining was his magic, which kept replenishing itself, so he was fine.”

“But he might not be this time,” Morgana said. “He never got his magic back from Lena. If what you’re saying is true, he won’t have that defense.”

Huey fell silent.

“Is there anything that could be done?” Scrooge asked. 

Morgana sighed. “As with any other kind, emotional vampirism is debilitating to its victims. It would take a powerful spell to reverse the effects.”

“Lena could do it,” Violet said, stepping forward. “She has her magic and Donald’s, plus the Jewel of Atlantis.”

“That’s not...” Morgana shook her head. “This kind of spell, the power of the individual magic user doesn’t matter. This kind of spell would be attached to the very core of the caster. Anyone can cast it, but not everyone will be affected the same way.”

Huey rubbed his wrists, trying to think. He felt woven string under his fingers and paused, looking down.

“The core of the caster...” he muttered.

“The friendship bracelets,” Violet said. “Would it be like that?”

“Let me see,” Morgana said. 

Violet and Huey took off their bracelets and handed them to Morgana.

“Who made these?” Morgana said.

“Lena and Webby did,” Huey said. “They’ve helped us beat Magica in the past. Lena was able to use Webby’s to keep herself alive in the shadow realm.”

“And Gosalyn used hers to heal Drake after he was drained by the Blot,” Violet said.

“Really?” Morgana said. She handed the bracelets back. “Those are very powerful items, keep them close.”

“Would it work?” Scrooge asked. 

“Yes, I believe it would,” Morgana said. “But it would _have_ to be the right person. Someone with a very close bond to the victim.”

“Right.” Huey turned to Scrooge. “Now can I call Penny?”

“We’ll have to hope they get it in time,” Scrooge said. 

Huey ran off towards the houseboat. Scrooge followed him. Violet looked up at Morgana.

“Why didn’t Donald get his magic back?” Violet asked. “Lena would have given it to him.”

“It’s not that she wouldn’t,” Morgana said. “It’s that he didn’t want it anymore.”

“But why?”

Morgana paused. “I don’t know.”

* * *

A power surge rocked through the Cube. The lights in the throne room flickered, most shutting off entirely. Evron detached from Donald and the face on his chest winced in pain. He tried to stand up, but staggered back into the darkness. Donald fell to the floor, unconscious, and the black stopped creeping halfway up his arms and legs. Drake elbowed the drone holding him in the face and ran over to Donald.

“Come on,” he muttered. “Get up, PK.”

Penumbra bodied the drone holding her. It staggered back, and she grabbed at the other drone. There was a loud sound of fabric tearing and Drake looked up. 

The purple “skin” was a fabric covering a harness inside the chest of the drone. Fenton hung inside it like an abandoned marionette, dried blood crusted around a mechanical eye attached to his head. His other eye was closed. Tubes attached to his arms and torso carried red light away from him and into the body of the drone. 

Drake’s heart froze.

“No...” He shook Donald harder. “Donald, please!”

A large hand grabbed Drake by the cape and lifted him off the floor. Evron brought his head to Drake and Drake took a swing at him. Evron pulled away.

“You have spirit,” Evron said. “But I think you will be less trouble if you are simply dead. Any last words?”

“Yeah,” Drake said. “Suck gas.”

“Sorry?”

Drake drew the gas gun and fired. A cloud of gas surrounded Evron’s heads and he dropped Drake. Drake suppressed a cough as he got to his feet. 

“God, that’s nasty,” he muttered, picking up Donald. Penumbra came over to help him. 

“What about him?” she asked, nodding towards the Fenton drone. 

Drake sighed. “We bring him too.”

Penumbra grabbed the Fenton drone and steered him towards the direction of the exit. The doors opened and Gosalyn came crashing through.

“Dad!” Gosalyn cried, jumping up to hug Drake.

“Hey, sweety,” he said. “Are you okay, is anything hurt?”

Gosalyn shook her head. Della and Gyro ran in. They were breathing hard, and Della clutched at her new prosthetic. She gasped when she saw Donald.

“What happened to him?” she asked, taking him from Drake.

“Evron,” Penumbra said. “I think we got him in time, but he’s out cold.”

“Fenton...” Gyro muttered, approaching the drone carefully. He looked over at Drake. “I am so sorry.”

Drake shook his head. “You can fix him, right?”

Gyro sighed, looking down. “I _made_ him.”

* * *

Uno wheeled back and forth in front of the server room door, waiting for the erigus. 

“PK would have checked in by now,” Uno muttered. “No, no Uno, he’s been fake captured as a distraction, it’s okay...”

There was a soft ticking sound coming from around the corner and Uno wheeled into the doorway, trying to hide. The erigus came down the hall, his lower half a set of six robotic spider legs. Its hands were a rotating selection of surgical tools and it wasn’t until Uno saw the glass imitation of a receding hairline and the round face that he suddenly recognized him.

“Ducklair?” Uno said, wheeling out from his hiding spot.

Erigus leaned down to inspect the small android. 

“Curious...” Erigus said.

“Ducklair, it’s me,” he said. “Uno.”

“I do not recall building such a thing as you,” Erigus said, straightening out. 

“You didn’t, not really,” Uno said. “I came to you and PK. A long time ago. Do you remember PK?”

Erigus tilted his head, accessing information.

“Paperinik, classification: enemy of the empire,” Erigus said. “Slated for transformation into an energy source.”

“No,” Uno said. “He was your friend! Our friend!”

Uno suddenly remembered Paperinik fighting Ducklair to save the drones and the coolflames. This was why. Uno looked up at Erigus. 

“I don’t want to fight you,” Uno said.

“I am here to make repairs,” Erigus said, entering the server room. Uno wheeled after him. 

“Ducklair, please,” Uno said. “You have to remember.”

Erigus went over to the terminal and leaned back on his four hind legs, picking the first two up to start the screen up and work the keyboard. 

“I am Erigus,” he said. “I service the emperor.”

“You _fought_ the emperor,” Uno said. “We both did. If I could change, so can you.”

“I am Erigus of Evron.”

“And I am 7 of 9,” Uno said. “Scout probe of the Evronian empire. But I chose to die rather than let the empire win.”

Erigus paused. “Resistance is futile.”

“That’s what makes resisting so important,” Uno said. 

Erigus was silent for a moment. He taped a few keys and the server started back up. Uno sighed as Erigus walked away. He stopped at the door.

“I... apologise,” Erigus said before leaving. 

* * *

The doors slammed shut and the few remaining lights went out. Gas hissed from unseen vents and a whirring sound like a computer fan starting up slowly grew. There was a loud thunk and a single light turned on above Evron’s throne as the emperor stood. 

“I will suffer this no longer,” he said.

The doors opened and the coolflame Webby stood behind it, her head cocked. She was joined by a taller coolflame, with broad shoulders and orange fire surrounding his head.

“Is that..?” Drake breathed.

“Launchpad,” Gosalyn said.

Gyro cried out as the Fenton drone knocked him aside and marched towards Della and Donald. It raised a hand that retracted and was replaced with a large blade. Penumbra leapt onto its shoulders, trying to hold it back. The Fenton drone raised its arm and slashed. Gyro pushed Della out of the way and got the blade across the torso, a large gash appearing from his left shoulder to his right hip. He grimaced and clutched at his chest.

“You are not evil, Fenton,” he said. “You are _good_ , and _kind_ , and better than I’ll ever be.”

Gyro dropped to his knee, blood dripping down his front. Inside the harness, Fenton’s uninjured eyelid fluttered.

Evron sat on his throne. A company of drones filed into the throne room and circled the group. 

“Make peace with your end, _Justice Ducks_ ,” he said.


	10. Out of the Woods

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Are we out of the woods yet? Are we out of the woods yet?  
> Are we out of the woods yet? Are we out of the woods?  
> Are we in the clear yet? Are we in the clear yet?  
> Are we in the clear yet? In the clear yet? Good"  
> — Taylor Swift, "Out of the Woods"

Drake deactivated his suit and pulled off the wristbands. He grabbed Gyro’s hands and put them on him, reactivating the suit.

“Drake, no, I—”

“Shut up, I’m saving your life,” Drake said. “It’ll keep pressure on the wound, keep you from bleeding out.”

“I...” Breathing got harder and Gyro’s eyelids drooped. 

“I got you,” Drake said, lowering him to the ground. “We’ll get you out of here.”

Drake took off his mask and hat and handed them to Gosalyn. “Keep these safe.”

She nodded. 

Drake stood up and faced the Fenton drone. From his throne, Evron laughed. 

“He is _mine_ , boy,” Evron said. 

“Fenton,” Drake said quietly. “Fenton, it’s me.”

“You cannot reach him,” Evron said. “You will be dead in moments. Accept your fate.”

Drake stepped forward, reaching into the chest and adjusting the lapel on Fenton’s ruined suit. 

“For better or worse,” Drake said. “I’m pretty sure this isn’t better, but it’s what we have.”

Fenton’s beak opened slightly and he flinched. Drake touched his cheek.

“ _Come on_ ,” Drake said. “You remember. He’s just in your head, you can get him out.”

“Resistance is futile,” Evron said.

“I know,” Drake said. “But this isn’t the first time someone’s hijacked my husband. And I’m pretty sure I know the cure.”

He reached around Fenton’s head and grabbed the cable attaching his skull to the drone suit and pulled. Fenton’s eye opened and the tubes detached from his body. Fenton fell out of the drone suit and into Drake’s arms. He clung on to him, breathing heavily.

“What happened?” Fenton asked.

“I’ll explain later,” Drake said. “If we don’t die.”

Fenton looked around. “Oh.”

Fenton winced and stepped back, grabbing his head. Blood started to bead on the bottom of the mechanical eye. The was a low, almost growling sound and they all realized—

Evron was _laughing_.

“Did you really think it would be that easy?” Evron asked, the face on his chest grinning wildly. 

Drake pulled Fenton to the ground, pinning him there.

“Drake!” Della yelled.

“Oh, come on, you think I haven’t been in enough Z-movies to know what happens next?” Drake asked.

Fenton struggled to get back up, but Drake pushed him down hard.

“You _know_ you can’t get out of this, Fen,” Drake muttered.

Despite this, Fenton got an arm free and swiped at Gosalyn’s ankle. She jumped back, and Drake hit him across the face, knocking him out. He glared up at Evron.

“You do _not_ touch my daughter,” Drake said.

“Your attack on my computer system has interrupted my communications,” Evron said. “But we still respond to verbal commands. _Kill_.”

The drones closed in and the group prepared to fight. A bolt of lighting crashed across the room, electrifying the drones, and they collapsed around the group. Lena flew in, dropping Gandra in with the others and landed at Evron’s feet.

“Pick on someone your own size,” Lena said, swinging her staff. 

“ _Up._ ”

The drones got back to their feet. Half of them went to attack Lena. The other half attacked the rest of the group.

“You picked a hell of a time to show up,” Drake said, adjusting his gun to ice and firing.

“Yeah, well, we were a little busy with _your_ plan,” Gandra said. She electrified two drones, paralysing them, and hit them against each other.

“You let _Drake_ do the planning?” Della said. She kicked a drone with her new prosthetic and it went right through the drone’s arm. Her foot got caught in it on the way out.

Drake quickly switched to the grappling hook and fired at the drone Della was stuck in. The hook lodged in its shoulder and he pulled her loose.

“You weren’t exactly available,” Drake said.

Lena blasted several drones away with her staff. They kept advancing and she pushed off the floor, her wings blowing a gust that knocked them all over. She turned to face Evron. 

“You have the same gift another young hero once showed,” Evron said. 

“Oh, you have _no_ idea,” Lena said. 

She lifted her staff and white glyphs started to glow and spin around her as she charged up a spell.

“ _Horija!_ ” 

A bright light glowed at the head of her staff and filled the room, blinding everyone. As the light faded, Evron was knocked off his throne and Lena fell, sliding along the floor back to the group. She tried to stand, but could barely breathe.

“I got you, kid,” Penumbra said, picking her up. 

“We gotta go, now,” Della said, grabbing her brother. 

Drake looked to the coolflames of Launchpad and Webby. 

“Can they understand us?” he asked.

“I think so,” Gosalyn said.

He nodded. “Launchpad, grab the armor. Webby, take Gosalyn”

“Wait, what?”

Webby took Gosalyn's hand and ran with her as Launchpad picked up the Gizmosuit. Gandra threw Gyro over her shoulders and Drake picked up his husband. They ran out of the throne room and back to the ship, meeting Uno in the docking bay.

“What happened?” Uno asked.

“Escape now, explain later,” Drake said. 

They piled on the ship and Penumbra and Della ran to the cockpit. 

“Engines ready,” Dewey said.

“Great,” Penumbra said. “Out of my seat.”

Penumbra took the ship up and blasted out of the docking bay. Scout ships detached from the Cube, following them. They started to fire. 

“Della, you have guns,” Penumbra said. 

Della took control of the ship's guns and fired back. She clipped one of the ships, sending it careening into the other and they both went up in flames. Penumbra pulled the ship to full speed and Jupiter shrank away from them. 

“We’re out of range,” Della said. 

“Hey, what does this blinking light mean?” Louie asked, pointing to a red blinking light.

“That’s the communications equipment,” Penumbra said. 

“Who would be calling us in space?” Della asked. 

“Not a call, just a message,” Penumbra said. “We’re too far out for instant communication. Hit the button next to it.”

Louie did, and a hologram of Huey shot up from the light. 

“Penny, Uncle Donald, I went through all the old SHUSH records of the Evronians and Morgana helped me figure something out...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Watch the tags for Chapter 11


	11. Full of Holes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "And I can't love, shot full of holes  
> Don't feel nothing, I just feel cold  
> Don't feel nothing, just old scars  
> Toughening up around my heart"  
> — Elton John, "I Want Love"

Gyro woke up in one of the ship’s bunk rooms. Della had unwrapped the bandages around his chest and was removing blood-soaked gauze.

“What happ— ngh!” He tried to sit up and pain shot through his body.

“Woah, there,” Della said. “We put a lot of work into saving your dumb ass. Let’s not kill yourself now.”

He groaned, lying back down. 

“What about Fenton?” he asked. “Is he..?”

“We got him out,” Della said. “He and Drake are in with Gandra. She should be finishing up his surgery soon.”

Gyro sighed. “That’s good.”

Della pulled some disinfectant and clean gauze out of a first-aid kit. 

“This is gonna sting like a bitch,” she said. “Hold still.”

She poured some disinfectant on the gauze and gently pressed it to Gyro’s wound. He winced.

“Told you,” she said.

“Why didn’t Lena heal me?” Gyro asked.

“She did,” Della said. “Or, well, she stabilized you so you wouldn’t die on the way back. Then she passed out. And since they didn’t bring Morgana or Violet, you’re stuck with me.”

“There are worse people I could be stuck with,” he said.

She paused. 

“Shut up,” she muttered, pushing his face away.

She went back to cleaning the gash on his chest.

“Why do you trust me?” Gyro asked.

“What are you talking about?” Della said. “Everyone here trusts you.”

“I didn’t build that ship for everyone,” he said.

She shook her head. “Uncle Scrooge told you to build it, that’s not your fault.”

“I designed it,” Gyro said. “I tested it. I could have done better, and you would have kept your leg and not gotten stuck in that storm and—”

“Gyro, you _saved_ me,” Della said. 

He paused. “What?”

“Oxy-chew,” Della said, shaking her head. “You and Mallory and all the other eggheads— you kill yourselves over the big projects, the major breakthroughs. You invented a gum that lets people breathe in space and shoved it in a drawer. Yeah, the flavor sucks, but it saved my life and let me get back to my family.”

“Actually, licorice was the only flavor that didn’t mess with the chemical process,” he said.

She smiled. “See, now I can’t even be mad at you for that.”

She started putting new gauze on the cleaned wound.

He sighed. “I just... So many times in my life, the answer seems to be ‘if I hadn’t built the damn thing, this wouldn’t have happened’ and it’s...”

“You can’t see every angle,” Della said. “Trust me. But there’s a difference between accepting the consequences of your actions and whatever the hell this self-flagellating pity party you’ve got going on.”

“Still,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

He looked down at the Evronian leg.

“Once I can stand up without passing out, do you want me to take that off for you?” he asked.

She looked. “Oh, um. Sure. Better safe, I guess.”

Della paused. She finished wrapping the wound, and took his hand in hers.

“It’s gonna be okay,” she said.

* * *

Lena stirred and woke up on the floor of the main area of the ship. Gosalyn was curled up asleep next to her, nestled under Lena’s wing. Lena slowly got up, careful not to wake her. She stretched her wings and folded them over her shoulders. They melted into the feathers of her upper arms and back.

She went up to the cockpit. Penumbra had hooked Uno up to the navigational system. Lena could see Mars off in the distance.

“Hey,” Penumbra said. “Feeling better?”

“Yeah,” Lena said. “How did we..?”

“I had the bot calculate a safe path through the asteroids based on the data we collected going through the first time,” Penumbra said. “We wanted to let you rest as long as we could.”

“Thanks,” Lena said. “Did everyone get out?”

“Yeah,” Penumbra said. “We got everyone.”

Uno looked away.

“You should head on back,” Penumbra said. “The other kids got a message from their brother about a way to help your friend.”

“All right.”

Lena walked back to the living area. Everyone else was asleep, even Webby and Launchpad. She went back to the bunkrooms, going into one of them. Drake was sitting next to Fenton, who was still unconscious, and Gandra had passed out on the floor. On the other bunk, Donald was still comatose. Drake looked up.

“Hey, kid,” he said, only barely smiling. “You feeling okay? You kinda wiped out there.”

“Yeah, I’m okay,” she said. “How are they?”

“Fenton’s... gonna be asleep until we land,” Drake said. “We won’t know fully how he is until he wakes up. Donald hasn’t moved.” 

Lena put a hand on Donald’s shoulder. She looked at his hand, still black from what Evron did to him. 

She looked closer.

Webby and Launchpad had lost the individual feathers on their skin. The jet black look was closer to the Blot than a black bird. 

Donald’s feathers had turned black. 

She unfurled her left wing from her back. Careful not to hit Drake, she placed it against Donald’s hand. They looked like they came from the same person.

“What are you seeing?” Drake asked.

“Just another thing he hasn’t told me yet,” she said.

The door opened and Dewey stepped in. 

“Is Uncle Donald okay?” he asked.

Drake looked at Lena. She put her wing away and let go of Donald’s hand. 

“He’ll be okay,” she said. “You want to do the thing now?”

“Yeah,” he said. 

“Okay,” she said. “Drake, if you’re okay with it, we could use your help with this.”

Drake sighed. “Fenton’s going to be out for a while. If I can help Launchpad, that would be great.”

In the main area, Lena set up a rune circle. She directed Webby to the center of it.

“You sure about this?” Drake asked.

“Yeah,” Lena said. “I’ve done it, like, twice.”

“This exact thing?” he asked. 

“Well, no,” Lena said. “But this _kind_ of magic, yeah. It’ll be fine.”

“Okay...” he muttered.

Lena stood in the runes with Webby and took her hands.

“All right,” she said. “ _With the hand of my best friend, restore the light, bring flame to end. With the hand..._ ”

She repeated the spell and the runes glowed a little, as well as the friendship bracelets, but after the fifth time, Lena stopped and sighed.

“That should have worked,” Louie said. 

“I know, okay?” Lena snapped. “Something’s wrong.”

“You can’t put something back with magic that’s been taken by technology.”

They all looked back and Donald stood in the door to the bunkroom. His hands were still black and he walked slowly, wincing. Dewey and Louie ran over and hugged him.

“Uncle Donald!”

Donald laughed softly. “My boys.”

“What did you mean by that?” Lena asked.

“I’m guessing you don’t have the whole picture,” Donald said. “Lena, we need to talk.”

The ship’s intercom buzzed. 

“We’re preparing to enter the atmosphere,” Penumbra said. “Strap in.”

The intercom turned off and an alarm started to sound, flashing an orange light. Drake and the other kids helped get Launchpad and Webby secure and went to sit down.

“She means that,” Donald said.

“What do we need to talk about?” Lena asked.

“It can wait until we land,” Donald said. 

“No, what aren’t you telling us?” Lena asked.

“She’s got a point,” Drake said, helping Gosalyn with her seatbelt. “You’ve been cagey the whole trip.”

“There’s only so much I can say,” Donald said.

The ship started to shake as it burned through Earth’s upper atmosphere. Lena stumbled and Donald helped her stay up.

“Get to a seat,” he said. 

“What did you mean by ‘when it’s safe’?” she asked. “Why do your hands match my wings? Why can’t I help Webby?”

“You really want to do this now?” Donald asked.

“Those things are coming for us,” Lena said. “We don’t know how much time we have.”

Donald paused. “ _Stop_.”

The alarm and shaking stopped. The light flashed on and stayed on. And everyone else on the ship froze.

Lena looked around and stepped back.

“I thought you didn’t have your magic anymore,” she said.

“I don’t have _most_ of it,” he said. “But stopping time costs less than you’d think and it’s a _very_ useful spell.”

Lena paused. “What aren’t you telling me?”

He sighed. “The others... they told you about why Evron can’t...”

“Huey’s message said it had to do with magic,” Lena said.

“It had to do with _my_ magic,” Donald said. “I don’t think you realize how powerful you became when you destroyed the Jewel.” 

“I grew wings and my arm’s made of crystal,” Lena said. “I think I noticed.”

“You grew _black_ wings,” he said. “And I think you’ve also noticed my hands.”

“Yeah,” she said. “I did.”

“Do you know what a black mage is?” Donald asked.

“Well, black magic is offense, white magic is defense,” she said. “Black mage means black magic.”

“Right,” he said. He held up his hands. “This has only happened to me twice before. The first time, I had just discovered my magic and built a weapon to end a war it just ended up starting. The second time was when I stopped the first invasion.”

“Evron,” Lena said. “Whatever it was he did to you, we can fix it.”

Donald shook his head. “You didn’t listen. You can’t put back with magic what they took with technology.”

“ _Then how do we put it back_?” Lena asked. “This is Launchpad and Webby. Our friends.”

“Everett was my friend too,” Donald said. “And they...”

He looked away.

“If we can’t help them, what about Gyro and the others?” Lena said. “If magic won’t fix it, then what about science?”

Donald paused. “Gyro needs to recover. Gandra doesn’t have the experience. And we still don’t know what Fenton’s going to be like when he wakes up.”

“What about Dr. Starling?” Lena asked. “We have to do _something_.”

“And I will,” Donald said. “But let me ask _you_ something, how did you get them out? What spell did you use to stop Evron?”

“Um, ‘horija’,” she said. 

He shook his head. "Well, I'll be damned."

“What does _that_ mean?”

“You really are a white mage," he said.

Lena paused. “No, I... I’m a De Spell.”

Donald shook his head, almost smiling. 

“ _Start_ ,” he said, and the alarms and lights went on and the ship was shaking again.

“Get to your seat,” he said. “It’s gonna be a rough landing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently I just collect rairpairs like they're Pokemon-- gotta catch 'em all. It's not over yet...


	12. All This Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "The cars are moving like a half a mile an hour and I  
> Started staring at the passengers who're waving goodbye  
> Can you tell me what was ever really special about me all this time?"  
> — Matchbox 20, "How Far We've Come"

Capt. Cabrera had ambulances come to the manor as soon as she saw Penumbra’s ship approaching from the upper atmosphere. Her heart dropped when Fenton was rolled out on one of the stretchers. Drake and Gosalyn ran out behind him.

“What happened?” she asked Drake.

Drake sighed. “He tried to be a hero. Can you take Gosalyn to Mallory?”

“Of course,” she said, pulling Gosalyn away as Drake followed Fenton into the first ambulance.

“Kids!” Scrooge threw his arms around as many of his family as he could reach. Louie pulled away to join Dewey in hugging their brother. Della looked up to see Gyro being taken into the second ambulance. 

“Someone should—”

Gandra put a hand on her shoulder. “I got him. We’ll be back soon.”

Della nodded.

“Where’s Webby?” Mrs.Beakley asked. 

“We’re keeping Webby and Launchpad in the ship for now,” Donald said.

“Wait a moment,” Scrooge said, stepping away from the twins. “What happened to them?”

Donald brought Scrooge and Mrs. Beakley onto the ship, where Lena finished putting up a shield to keep Webby and Launchpad contained. 

“This should hold,” Lena said. 

“I would hope so,” Donald said.

“Is this _necessary_?” Mrs. Beakley said.

“From what we can tell, they’re still conscious,” Donald said. “They seem to recognize us and Webby even helped the kids some. But they’re still, to some extent, able to be controlled by Evron.”

He held up his hands, his feathers still black. “That’s how this happened.”

“Lad, you need your magic back,” Scrooge said. 

“You know, Uncle Scrooge, I wasn’t exactly _happy_ when you gave Lena one of my staffs,” Donald said. “I knew she could handle it, but that wasn’t your call. And _this_ is _definitely_ —”

“He’s right,” Lena said. 

Donald paused. “Lena, I’m not mad at you.”

“I know,” she said. “But let’s go back to helping our friends? Why did Evron do this to them?”

“Power,” Mrs. Beakley said. “The energy runs his ships.”

“Exactly,” Lena said. “But that much energy, it’s gotta be stored somewhere right? I give Donald his magic back, and we can go get their fuel tank.”

“We barely got out alive last time,” Donald said. 

“And you were fighting with an arm tied behind your back,” Lena said. “This magic is powerful. And if you want it gone after this fight is over, then fine, I’ll take it back. But you can do what I can’t, isn’t that true?”

Donald nodded. “Yes. We’ll need time to set up the ritual.”

“You’re not going alone,” Mrs. Beakley said. “Pick some members of the team. Take them with you. Don’t come back empty-handed.”

“I know,” Donald said. 

“Come on, Bentina,” Scrooge said quietly. “There’s still some things we need to do.”

Scrooge led Mrs. Beakley off the ship and Lena left with them. Uno poked his head out of the cockpit. 

“What’s wrong?” Donald asked. 

Uno wheeled out to him. “I saw Ducklair.”

Donald paused. “Tell me everything.”

* * *

Drake and Gandra waited in Gyro’s hospital room. Gandra paced by the window and Drake leaned against the edge of Gyro’s bed, running a hand through his hair. 

“He’s going to be okay,” Gyro said.

“You don’t know that,” Drake said. “None of us do.”

“Gandra does good work,” Gyro said. “And he’s strong. Stronger than he looks.”

Drake sighed. “You saying that doesn’t give me a lot of confidence.”

“I’m done,” Gyro said. “I lost. It’s okay. He’s stronger than he looks.”

“He’s been through hell this past year,” Drake said.

“We all have,” Gandra said. “He’ll make it.”

Two nurses wheeled a bed in with Fenton, an IV, and a heart-rate monitor. A doctor walked in behind them.

“Are you the family?” she asked.

“The ones who could make it,” Drake said. “I’m his husband, how is he?”

“He’ll be okay,” the doctor said. “Which of you got the thing off of him?”

“I did,” Gandra said. 

“You were either good or lucky, but we were able to save his eye,” the doctor said. “There will be some scarring around the socket, but that will fade. Did he have heart surgery recently?”

“About a year ago,” Drake said. “I know we didn’t have time for a full history— is his heart okay?”

“There was a moment in surgery where his heartbeat was slightly irregular,” the doctor said. “Not anything we’d be concerned about normally, but given the circumstances, we are worried that he’s not going to get the recovery period he needs. The stress on his body might be too much.”

“He’s going to be inside a robotic powered armor suit,” Gyro said. “We just need to make it so that he won’t kill himself trying to save everyone else. Gandra, can you make that happen?”

“Sure, but I need someone with a medical degree to assist,” Gandra said. 

“Dr. Gearloose, I’m going to discharge you as soon as someone brings you the paperwork,” the doctor said. “And you, I’m assuming, I can tell to take it easy for a few days so you don’t pull your stitches?”

“I’d have Morgana give you a once-over too,” Drake said. “We’re not losing anyone this time.”

“This time?” Gandra said. 

Drake looked away.

“I’ll be back in half an hour to wake Mr. Crackshell-Cabrera up if he isn’t awake by then,” the doctor said before leaving.

“This time?” Gandra repeated.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Drake said. “Not without a therapist. Or a lawyer.”

“Jim’s death wasn’t your fault,” Gyro said. 

“I said I don’t want to talk about it,” Drake said. 

“You realize all three of you blame yourselves,” Gandra said. 

Drake paused. “All three of us? And who would that be?”

“Mallory blames herself because it was her work and her father’s invention,” Gandra said. “Gosalyn blames herself because she was the one Taurus Bulba held at gunpoint. You... somehow your relationship was even more complicated. You’re not going to lose Fenton. I’m gonna make sure of that. I’d be far more worried about losing you.”

“I’ll try to steer clear of megalomaniacs from Wolf, Ram, and Hart,” Drake said. 

Fenton stirred in his bed and groaned in pain.

“My head...” he muttered. 

Drake jumped up and went over to Fenton.

“Don’t sit up,” Drake said. “You just got out of surgery, Fen, everything’s okay.”

“I can’t hear them...” Fenton said.

Drake paused. “Fen, are you with me?”

“Gosalyn, did I..?”

“She’s safe,” Drake said. “She’s with your mother. That was Evron, I know you would never hurt her.”

Fenton paused. “I hurt you. And you hit me.”

“I’m sorry,” Drake said.

“No, it was... You were right, I can’t get out of that hold,” Fenton said. “You were right.”

“I’m okay, too,” Gyro said. “I only got stabbed. And choked. Beaten half to death...”

Drake laughed and Fenton smiled weakly. 

“It didn’t work,” Fenton said. “I thought it might, but...”

“It’s okay,” Drake said.

“It’s really not,” Gyro said. “Fenton, that was the stupidest thing you’ve ever done. That you’ve ever had _me_ do.”

“I know,” Fenton said. “I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t know the risks,” Gyro said.

“Neither did you,” Fenton said. “And I had to convince you to do it. It’s my fault, I realise. Let’s just hope it doesn’t kill me.”

Drake took Fenton’s hand in his own.

“We can’t change the past,” Gandra said. “We all know that. We have to move forward.”

Drake nodded. 

“So what’s next?” he asked.

* * *

Donald helped Lena set up the ritual in an empty vault down in the Other Bin. 

“We can do this again when this is over,” Lena said. “If you really want to give it all up.”

“Let’s let us get through this in one piece first,” Donald said. “You know what you’re going to do?”

“Yeah,” she said. 

They sat on the floor across from each other. Donald put his hands in Lena’s. Her breath halted, her shoulders tense. She pulled her right arm back and clenched her fist. Donald reached out and put a hand on her head.

“I’m right here,” he said. “It’s okay.”

She nodded. “Right.”

She put her hand back out and they reset. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. 

“ _Magick. Dia. Esunaga._ ” she breathed. “ _Magick. Dia. Esunaga._ ”

Lena’s arm glowed as the Jewel of Atlantis started to bridge between them. A blue light started to beat from Donald’s chest.

“ _Magick. Dia. Esunaga._ ”

He felt the bones in his back shift. He couldn’t imagine Lena going through what he was about to, but her wings were spread out behind her as proof.

“ _Magick. Dia. Esunaga._ ”

A stabbing pain below his shoulders as his skin broke open and black wings pushed out behind him. Lena gasped as the color drained from her feathers and her wings beat a gale into the room. She gripped onto Donald’s hands.

“Keep going,” he said quietly. “I’m right here.”

“ _M-magick. Dia. Esunaga._ ”

His wings, an iridescent black and twice the span of Lena’s, wrapped around the two of them in a parental embrace.

“ _Magick. Dia. Esunaga._ ”

The last of his feathers turned black as he felt his magic surge through him. He sighed.

“It’s done,” he said.

She exhaled, letting go. The wind died down. Donald folded his wings behind his back and helped her stand up.

“How do you feel?” he asked. 

“About ten pounds lighter,” she admitted.

He nodded. “Sounds about right.”

He walked out of the vault and she followed him. 

“Now what?” she asked.

“Now?” He approached a vault marked 9710. “Now, I do what I’ve always done.”

He opened the door and a light flashed and faded. Lena winced as her eyes adjusted. On a pedestal at the center of the room was a weapon. Or, at least what looked like a weapon. A pair of meter-long keys crossed on each other. They were surrounded by a lace of metal, with a blade extending from the pins. Donald picked it up and it seemed to hum in his hands.

“I fight for my family,” he said.

* * *

Della walked through the foyer with a first aid kit for the third time that afternoon since she’d heard that Gyro was released from the hospital. This time, she was lucky enough to run into him. 

“Hey,” she said. “How are you feeling?”

“Better,” he said. “I’m going to check in with Morgana at some point to finish up, but I’m walking, which is something.”

“Sure, yeah,” she said. “Listen, can you help me with something?”

He shrugged. “What do you need?”

She grabbed his wrist and pulled him upstairs. She took him into her bedroom and shut the door. 

“Della, are you..?”

“Just... bear with me for a moment,” she said. 

She went over to the bed and pulled off the quilt, folding it over the footboard. 

“Mom made that, I don’t want it... you know,” she muttered.

“I really don’t,” he said. 

She pushed the top sheet aside and turned back around to face him. 

“I need help with my leg,” she said. 

He paused. “ _Oh_ , right, yeah.”

“Try not to sound so disappointed,” she said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Okay, lie down,” he said. 

Della laid down on the bed and Gyro looked over the leg. The tubes connecting the tech to her body were connected on the sides and back. He sat on the bed and lifted the leg so her ankle was resting on his shoulder, a slightly awkward position as he’d sat on the opposite side of the leg he needed to examine. He moved her other leg so it was across his lap so he’d have better access. He opened the first aid kit and started to detach the leg.

“Do you... _want_ an update?” he asked. “I know the old leg has sentimental value, but working with Gandra has given me a crash course in biotech.”

“The old one works fine,” she said. “I don’t need a Swiss Army Leg.”

“Okay,” he said. “Just let me know.”

His fingers grazed the skin around the connection point and her breath hitched in her throat.

“Does that hurt?” he asked quietly. 

“No,” she said.

He released the clamps in the tubes connecting the prosthetic to her leg. Beads of blood appeared at the connection points. Della winced.

“They put a cap on the end of your leg,” he said. “I’m going to have to remove it.”

“Okay,” she said. 

He got a scalpel out of the first aid kit and slid it in the gap between the metal of the cap and Della’s leg. The blade caught on a wire and Della made a small, pained noise. Gyro paused.

“It’s going to hurt,” she said. “Just do it.”

He cut the wire and she cried out in pain. Gyro took the cap off and blood dripped on the sheets. He cleaned and bandaged the cut, feeling old scars under his fingers.

“The scarring,” he said. “From the amputation?”

“I didn’t exactly have a bone saw handy,” she said.

The Evronian prosthetic hung from his shoulder as he looked down at her on the bed. She was tearing up from the pain and trying to control her breath. 

“It’s done,” Gyro said. “You’ll want to wait until the bleeding stops to put on your leg.”

“Yeah,” she said. “Can you... stay?”

He nodded. “Sure.”

He rested a hand on the leg draped across his lap and she reached out and held it. He rubbed his thumb on the back of her hand. 

Donald opened the door and walked in. His wings dragged behind him and the sword was strapped to his back.

“Della, I— oh.”

“Nice look,” Della said. “You finally went full goth, I like it.”

“I was never _goth_ ,” Donald said. “I can come back if—”

“You’re fine, come in,” Della sighed, sitting up. Gyro stood and walked away from the bed. He leaned against the wall next to an old Powerline poster.

“So what’s the sword for?” he asked, crossing his arms.

“I’m going to kill Evron,” Donald said. “And Della, I... I need your help.”

“What, like, hiding the body?” Della said. “I’m not sure I can dig a hole that big.”

“No, not that,” Donald said. “I need you to get the power source off of his ship.”

“Or, I could blow it up,” Della said.

“Normally, I’d agree with you,” Donald said. “But it might be the only way to help Webby and Launchpad.”

“What do you mean?” Gyro said. “I thought the kids were saying magic would help them.”

“Yes and no,” Donald said. “It’s magic that Evron took from them, but it’s science that took it, so we can’t just make more of it.”

Gyro shook his head. 

“I _hate_ magic,” he muttered.

“I know the feeling,” Donald said.

“So what do you need?” Gyro asked.

“Wait,” Della said. “You’re not—”

“Do either of you think you have the technical skills to dismantle an alien engine and _safely_ siphon off as volatile a fuel as magical emotion energy?” he asked.

“Gyro, _no_.” Della got up from the bed and stumbled. Gyro stepped forward to help steady her. She held on to him with a tight grip, sighing.

“Gyro, you almost died up there,” she said. “Twice. None of us can afford to lose you.”

“Evron wins and that’s not going to matter,” Gyro said. “Neither of you know enough about the tech. Fenton, Gandra, and I are the ones that rebuilt Uno. I’m the one that... that put that thing on Fenton.”

“You can help when we get back,” Della said. “Gyro, I—”

The mansion shook. Gyro held on to Della and Donald ran to the window. 

“Okay, the timeline just got a lot shorter,” Donald said.

In the clear, summer sky above Duckburg, the Evronian Cube loomed over the skyscrapers downtown. 


	13. Valhalla, I Am Coming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "The hammer of the gods  
> Will drive our ships to new lands  
> To fight the horde, sing and cry  
> Valhalla, I am coming"  
> — Led Zeppelin, "Immigrant Song"

Scrooge stood outside the manor, looking up at the alien vessel looming over Duckburg. The triplets and their friends all ran outside. 

“What’s the plan?” Louie said.

“Get back inside, kids,” Scrooge said. 

“No way,” Dewey said. “You tricked us out of fighting an alien invasion once already, it’s not happening again!”

“Uncle Scrooge is right.”

Della approached the kids, followed by Donald. 

“We need Lena out there,” Della said. “But the rest of you—”

“Della, no.” Gosalyn stepped forward. She clutched her hockey stick in her hand. “My dads haven’t gotten back from the hospital. We have to be out there. _I_ have to...”

Della knelt down in front of Gosalyn. 

“I know,” Della said. “But we can’t lose this ground.”

“Wait, what?” Louie said. 

“Violet, I want you to put up wards around the manor,” Della said. “Anything you’ve got. Huey, Louie, get the traps out of Webby’s room and set them at the entrances. We can come in if we have to, no one gets out. Dewey, Gos, make sure everyone has a weapon. If we get driven back to the manor, we want to be able to hold it.”

“We’re not leaving you out,” Scrooge said. “But we want to make sure you’re safe.”

The kids looked to each other and nodded.

“Okay,” Dewey said. 

“Let’s go.” Louie led the group back in the manor. Gosalyn started to follow, but paused, looking at Lena. 

“I’ll be okay,” Lena said. “I promise.”

Gosalyn nodded. “Okay.”

She leaned forward and kissed Lena on the cheek. They both blushed and Gosalyn ran back inside. Lena touched the spot where Gosalyn kissed her and looked away, smiling. Della put a hand on her shoulder. 

“Earth to Lena,” he said. 

“You really want to play that game, Della?” Donald said, adjusting the settings on his Paperinik gauntlets. “After what I just saw in the manor?”

He took the gauntlets off and handed them to Della.

“You sure?” Della said, accepting them. “What are you going in?”

“I’ll manage,” Donald said. He snapped his fingers and in a flash, his clothes were replaced by long, blue wizard robes with red lining and silver stars embroidered on the cuffs and hem. He stretched his wings. 

“It’s been a while since I’ve done this,” Donald muttered. “Penumbra getting air support?”

“Yeah,” Della said, putting on the gauntlets. “Sorry, you haven’t done what in a while?”

“Lena, get Uno,” Donald said. He grabbed Della by the waist before pushing off the ground with immense force. They shot up into the air and Della cried out, holding onto Donald’s arm.

“What the hell?” Della yelled. 

“You didn’t think they were for show, did you?” Donald asked. 

Scout ships emerged from the Cube, bearing down on Duckburg. Donald took a deep breath. 

“Let’s hope Penny gets here soon,” he said. 

Donald charged towards the cube, dodging fire. Lena passed by them, Uno in tow. She raised her staff, throwing up a shield. 

“Lena, catch,” Donald said, throwing his sister at her. Lena vanished her staff in time to collide with Della, just barely grabbing her by the hand.

Donald reached behind him for his sword. There was a bright flash and the blade split in two. The half on his back streamed with light and the half in his hand was made of shadows. He brought down the blade and the ships cracked in half. The debris fell, hitting the city shield.

“Keep moving,” Donald said. 

Down on the ground, Morgana cast a spell to reinforce the shield as the debris fell. 

“I can’t do this forever,” she said to Capt. Cabrera. “I mean, I can, but that’s not going to make them leave. Where are they?”

“Drake said they were on their way,” Capt. Cabrera said. “Fenton was really bad when they got back, he might not be able to fight.”

“I think we’ll take whatever we can get right now,” Morgana said. 

A sound like car keys scraping a piano string announced the arrival of an army of Evronian drones on the streets of Duckburg. The Beagle Boys charged and Morgana threw up shields as the Evronians opened fire. 

“There’s too many of them,” Capt. Cabrera said.

“We’ll see about that,” Morgana said. 

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The ground started to tremble and Capt. Cabrera braced herself. The pavement rippled underneath the Evronians and thorny vines sprung up around about two dozen of them, trapping the rest behind a thicket. 

“That ought to slow them down,” Morgana said.

The scraping sound started up again behind her. She turned around and was staring down the barrel of an Evronian’s gun. It charged up to fire before being knocked away, covered by a block of ice. Darkwing tackled the drone and Gizmoduck rushed over, tearing the mechanical arms off. The drone fell to the ground. 

“That was a bit careless, eh Morgie?” Darkwing said. 

“No more than you are, darling,” she said, hands on her hips. “You’re _late_.”

“For everyone _not_ flirting with people they aren’t married to, the drones are breaking through the line!” Gizmoduck said. 

The drones cut through the thicket, advancing down the street. Darkwing reloaded his gas gun.

“Let’s get dangerous.”

He jumped up and perched on Gizmoduck’s shoulder. Gizmoduck rushed to the thicket, hitting every drone he could reach on the way. He skidded to halt in the middle of the drone’s formation and Darkwing jumped down. 

“You know I was only kidding, right babe?” Darkwing said, firing his grappling hook into the shoulder of one of the drones. He tossed the gun to Gizmoduck. 

“Right,” Gizmoduck said, dragging the drone into a line of others by the line. “But I also know how you get when I talk about Gandra.”

“I’ve gotten better about her!” Drake said, trying to punch one of the drones and hitting metal. He shook out his hand. “It only started like that because she nearly got you killed. Twice!”

Darkwing turned on the steel knuckles setting on his suit and tried again, punching the drone out.

“Yes, because the Scarlet Macaw has done nothing wrong in her life, ever,” Gizmoduck said. 

“Now you’re getting it.”

Darkwing took his gun back and jumped up on Gizmoduck to fire a circle of gas around the two of them. He dropped down so his face was at the same height as Fenton’s. He hung onto the suit’s shoulder guards.

“Besides,” Drake said. “How could I betray the perfect man?”

“Oh, we’re talking about me now?” Fenton smirked. 

Drake quickly kissed him before the gas started to dissipate. Electric shocks bolted through the air, setting the gas from the gun on fire and throwing the drones back in the explosion.

“Are you two done?” Megavolt asked, crossing her arms. Drake jumped down to the ground.

“Oh, hey, Gandra,” Fenton said. “Nice sui— ah!”

Fenton clutched at his helmet, backing away from Drake. Beads of blood started to collect at the bottom of the visor under his left eye. 

“What’s happening?” Gandra asked, running up to him. The suit’s arm swung down, hitting Gandra and tossing her aside.

“I didn’t do that!” Fenton said. 

Bouncer Beagle jumped over the thicket and pulled Gizmoduck into a Nelson hold. 

“Can you shut him off?” he asked Darkwing. 

Drake nodded and jumped up onto Gizmoduck’s front. He pulled the emergency shut-off Fenton installed and the chest opened. Fenton fell to the ground, pulling at the helmet.

“I can’t get it off!” he said.

Drake put a hand on Fenton’s shoulder and looked around at the buildings. 

“I’ll get you somewhere safe,” he said, looking at the police station. He looked up at Bouncer. “You. With me. Bring the suit.”

“Sure.”

Up in the sky, the scout ships surrounded Donald and Lena. Della had been thrown onto Lena’s back and Uno clutched tight to Donald’s leg.

“There’s too many of them!” Lena said. 

“We’ll get through,” Donald said. He held up the black half of his sword.

“ _Aeroga!_ ”

The wind whipped around them and Della held on tightly to Lena.

“Don’t drop me, kid,” she said.

The clouds started to gather over Duckburg.

“ _Thundaga!_ ”

A bolt of lightning crashed across the sky.

“ _Akuaga_.”

Donald lowered the sword and a heavy rain started to fall. 

“Follow the light,” he called out, taking the white half of his sword off of his back. It glowed even brighter in his hand. He flew over the drones and directly towards the Cube. Lena kept up as best she could. 

Gandra hobbled back to the others as Morgana raised the ground to cover their retreat. Capt. Cabrera helped Gandra stand up straight. 

“What happened?” Capt. Cabrera asked. “Where’s my son?”

“I don’t know,” Gandra said. “I think he’s in trouble.”

“Drake’s with him,” Morgana said. “They’ll be okay.”

Gandra sighed. “I hope you’re right.”

From a window in the manor, Gyro saw a bright light enter the Cube and sighed, putting a hand on the stitches in his shoulder.

“Please be okay,” he muttered.


	14. Feels Like Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I thought there was blood left in this stone  
> Turns out that I was wrong  
> And I hope you find the place that feels like home  
> With a heightened sense of strength  
> And a stronger sense of self"  
> — Bayside, "A Call to Arms"

Mallory worked at a collapsible card table set up in the foyer of the Manor. Across the room, Gyro helped Huey with an improvised projectile weapon, made mostly of a toaster and a handful of kitchen knives. Gosalyn approached Mallory, hockey stick in hand.

“Mom? Can... can we talk?” she said.

“Sure, sweety,” Mallory said, putting down her tools. “What do you need?”

“Um...” She wrung her hands on the hockey stick. “Something happened in space.”

“Are you okay?” Mallory reached for her and Gosalyn stepped back.

“Yeah, I just...” She looked to the floor. “I called Uncle Drake ‘Dad’.”

Mallory felt her heart clench in her chest. “Oh, sweety...”

“And... then he called me his daughter?” Gosalyn said. “And I know we talked about after they got married moving in and being a family again, but I don’t know if I can do that without them and please don’t be mad!”

Tears rolled down her face and Mallory wiped them away. 

“Gosalyn...” she sighed. “I’m not mad.”

“I don’t want to forget Dad,” Gosalyn said. “I don’t want to lose you again. But I don’t want to _choose_ again. Why can’t we all just be together?”

Mallory paused. “You know, Drake and I never really talked about it. And, well, right now isn’t exactly the best time...”

Gosalyn sighed, tapping her stick on the floor. 

“But if we stop the apocalypse, I promise I’ll talk to your dads.” Mallory smiled.

Gosalyn gasped. She jumped up and hugged her mother and Mallory held her close. 

“We’re always going to be family,” Mallory said. “No matter what. Your father loved you so much.”

“I know,” Gosalyn said. She put her feet back on the floor and wiped the wet off her face.

“So what are you working on?” she asked.

“You know, I’m not really sure,” Mallory said, picking up some tubing attached to the device she’d been working on. “Donald actually gave me the design, about a week ago. Didn’t say what it was for, just said it was important. After the wedding, there wasn’t that much for me to do, everyone off in space and all. I guess it just made me feel like I was doing _something_.”

Gosalyn ran her hand over one of the tubes, picking it up and looking at the end of it. She gasped. She grabbed it from the table and ran over to Gyro.

“Dr. Gearloose!”

“Gos! Be careful!” Mallory said, running after her.

Gyro looked up from his work and Gosalyn held the device out for him to inspect.

“What does that look like to you?” she asked. 

Gyro adjusted his glasses. “Well, I’d say it... Mal?”

“Yeah?” Mallory said.

“Why are you working on Evronian tech?” he asked slowly.

“Wait, what?” she said. “No, I got that design from _Donald._ ”

“Right,” Gyro muttered, turning to Huey. He opened his beak to say something, pausing. 

“...hat nephew.”

“Huey.”

“Right, go get book kid.”

“Violet.”

“Just go!” Gyro said, huffing.

Huey ran off.

“What did Donald ask me to do?” Mallory asked.

“Short answer?” Gyro said. “You’re gonna save the world. Or, at least, Webby and Launchpad. But first we need to steal a spaceship.”

* * *

Back in the holding area of the downtown Duckburg police station, the blinds were drawn and the rain beat hard against the window. Darkwing leaned on the wall, watching Fenton struggling to pry the Gizmosuit’s helmet off of his head as blood slowly dripped down the left side of Fenton’s face. Drake had locked Fenton in a holding cell in the police station and gripped the key tight in his hand— he’d put it under his glove and could feel the edges of it leaving an impression in the skin of his palm, under the down. 

“Drake, help, please!” Fenton cried. “I can’t do it myself.”

“You can or you don’t get out,” Drake said. 

“You know, when I joked about trying bondage on our honeymoon, this isn’t exactly what I had in mind,” Fenton said.

“I’m not letting you out until I’m sure it’s you,” Drake said.

Fenton paused, looking over at Drake. “You think I’m Evron. That he’s controlling me.”

“My genius husband,” Drake said. 

“This is what he wants,” Fenton said. “For you to be the paranoid _asshole_ and for us to fight about it.”

“Take off the helmet and this’ll all be over,” Drake said.

Fenton paused. “I can’t believe you.”

Drake sighed, stepping forward and leaning against the bars. 

“I _want_ to believe you, Fen,” Drake said. “I really do. But he was in your head, he knows _everything_. There’s no way I can even tell it’s you.”

“Can you try?” Fenton said. “Drake, please, I can’t... please.”

He nodded. “Where was our first date?”

“We had lunch at that cafe across from Town Hall,” Fenton said. “It got interrupted by a lava monster. Then take out after you got home from the hospital.”

“Gosalyn’s middle name?” 

“Beatrix.”

“Do you love Gyro?”

Fenton paused.

“No,” he said. “I’m not in love with him. Of course I’m not.”

Drake shook his head. 

“Wrong answer, Evron.”

“What?”

“I get that I’m jealous,” Drake said. “I get that I didn’t _like_ having Gandra around at first. But I know better than to think that there was _nothing_ between Fenton and Gyro. Gyro is his _brother_ , Evron. And Fenton wouldn’t lie to me like that.”

Fenton’s breathing grew erratic as Drake walked away.

“Drake, please,” Fenton said. “Please, you can’t... I need your help, _please_!”

Drake left the holding area and shut the door behind him. Fenton’s voice was muffled and Drake sank to the floor, head in hands. A shadow loomed over him and he looked up. Bouncer stood in front of him.

“You okay, bud?” he asked.

“No,” Drake said. “No, I’m not.”

“Gizmoduck, he was callin’ you Drake?” Bouncer asked.

He sighed. “And?”

“Got a friend named Drake,” Bouncer said. “Good guy. Didn’t deserve what they gave him. Really cared about his family.”

“Did he,” Drake said, not really phrasing it as a question. “It’s more complicated than that.”

“Figured,” Bouncer said. “I don’t think great all that often, but someone that sounds like that... that don’t sound fake.”

“I know,” he said. “That’s what I’m worried about.”

* * *

Donald and Lena crashed into the docking bay of the Cube. Donald quickly got up and brushed himself off. He sheathed his sword.

“Everyone still in one piece?”

Della glared at him from the floor.

“What?” Donald shrugged. “I said I hadn’t done that in a while.”

“Do we really have time for this?” Lena asked. 

“Yeah, I think we have five minutes,” Della said, getting up. “I won’t need that long.”

“Della.” Donald put a hand on her fist. “Let’s save the world first, then you can kill me.”

Della sighed. “ _Fine_.”

“Uno will show you where the engine room is,” Donald said. “I’m going after Evron.”

“Alone?” Lena said. “He almost killed you last time.”

Donald put a hand on the hilt of his blade. 

“I’m not alone,” Donald said. “Just go.”

Lena nodded. “Right.”

“The engines are this way,” Uno said, leading Lena down one of the halls. Della hung back for a minute.

“Donald, I know there’s more than what you’re saying,” she said. “Why can’t you tell me?”

Donald paused. “Would you tell me?”

She hesitated, before nodding and following Lena and Uno.

Donald headed into the Cube, straight for Evron’s throne room. The halls were empty, Donald figured Evron must have had every drone down in the city. Just made things easier for him, he guessed. When he got to the room, the lights were out and he could barely see his hand in front of him. He drew the light half of his sword. The white flames sprung to life and he saw a spider-like form standing in front of the empty throne. It turned around and Donald gasped.

“Ducklair...”

“I am Erigus of Evron,” Erigus said.

“A bit harder, isn’t it?”

Donald’s grip tightened on his sword as Evron’s voice echoed in the chamber.

“A man so willing, so _eager_ , to kill...” Evron said. “But not the face of a friend.”

“Where are you?” Donald asked.

“With you,” Evron said. “In shadows. In the dark parts of your friends minds. The little girl cries for help, and her friends shrink away. The newly-wed fights his husband as the blood drips down his face. The damaged probe believes he can help, and yet...”

“No,” Donald gasped. He turned to leave, and the doors slammed shut. 

“This is your end, Paperinik.” Evron’s voice danced around his head, impossible to place. “Will you make peace with it?”

Donald drew the other half of his sword and turned to face the empty throne. 

“ _Never_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Is this going up in the middle of the night because work-related things make me worried that it's going to be difficult for me to post at my normal mid-morning time? Mayhaps...)


	15. Blood to Run

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Bid my blood to run  
> Before I come undone  
> Save me from the nothing I've become"  
> — Evanescence, "Bring Me To Life (Synthesis)"

_The light faded and Donald fell like a rock towards the battlefield, wings trailing behind him, feathers flying off._

_“He’s not slowing down,” Goofy said._

_Mickey scrambled, looking around the battlefield. The ruby heart of Donald’s discarded staff was lying a few yards away, untouched by the ash covering everything else. Mickey ran for it, picking the staff up and veering towards Donald._

_“_ Suroura! _”_

_The spell caught Donald and his fall slowed, with enough time for Goofy to run and catch him. He laid Donald on the ground and Mickey rushed over. His black feathers nearly matched the ash he lay in and an emblem glowed faintly over his chest in the shape of a heart. The bottom point of the heart was a fleur-de-lis, and it glowed red._

_“Is he okay?” Mickey asked. “He’s not breathing...”_

_“I can’t get a pulse,” Goofy said._

_“Come on, Don...” Mickey muttered, putting the staff in Donald’s hand. “Come on, we gotta get you back to your family.”_

_The head of the staff glowed softly. Donald gasped, coughing as he woke up._

_“What... what happened?”_

_Mickey felt tears on his face as he and Goofy hugged Donald. Donald pulled away, standing up and looking around at the battlefield._

_“Did_ I _do this?” he breathed._

_“It wasn’t your fault,” Mickey said, putting a hand on Donald’s shoulder. Donald recoiled away._

_“Not my_ — I _did this!” he yelled. “And all for...”_

_The charred remains of the chi-blade was just beyond them. Donald stepped towards it, eyes burning._

_“Scrooge was right,” Donald said. “_ Nothing _good comes from magic.”_

 _“You can’t believe that,” Goofy said. “We’re here because of magic. You’re_ alive _because_ — _”_

 _“And how many people are dead?” Donald yelled. “How many did I just_ kill _, because we’re here? How many are dead because I built that_ — _”_ _He pointed to the shards of the chi-blade “_ —thing _, and now they’re gone? And I can’t bring them back.”_

_“You couldn’t have known that this would happen,” Mickey said. “But it’s over now, isn’t that enough?”_

_“Yeah, it’s over,” Donald said. “And you get to be king, and I have to go home to my monster-hunting uncle and explain that I’ve become the thing we’ve fought for_ years _.”_

_Mickey paused, looking away._

_“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Donald grabbed his staff and stuck it in the ground, standing up. He stepped back._

_“What are you doing?” Goofy asked._

_“Ending this,” Donald said. “_ Magick. Dia. Esunaga. _”_

_“Donald, no,” Mickey said. “We can figure it out.”_

_Donald beat his wings, sending out a gust of wind that knocked Mickey back._

_“_ Magick. Dia. Esunaga. _”_

_The heart emblem over Donald’s chest glowed blue and beat softly._

_“_ Magick. Dia. Esunaga. _”_

_The blue light over his chest started draining into the ruby head of the staff. He felt light headed as the black color started to fade from his feathers._

_“_ Magick. Dia. Esunaga. _”_

_What felt like knives in his back split his skin open and his wings started to retract. He could feel the crunch of bones and the molting of feathers._

_“_ Magick. Dia. Esunaga. _”_

_A small piece of magic clung to his heart like a pilot light. He wanted it gone, all of it, but it refused._

_“_ Magick. Dia. Esunaga. _”_

_The light faded, but that last bit of magic stayed inside him, the only bit of warmth in his chest. He collapsed to his hands and knees, ash staining his once again white feathers. Goofy went over to help him up._

_“It’s okay,” Goofy said quietly. “It’s going to be okay.”_

_“No, it won’t,” Donald said, shaking his head. “I’m just going to have to live with it.”_ _  
  
_

* * *

_Donald’s costume was torn, and he was bruised worse than he had been in a while. Ducklair knelt next to him and Uno hovered close by. Donald stared down at his hands, feathers turned black from the experience._

_“How is this possible?” he muttered._

_“Donald, it’s okay,” Ducklair said. “You’re okay.”_

_“I shouldn’t be,” Donald said. “I should be...”_

_“When we started,” Ducklair said. “You said you had worked with magic before.”_

_“I locked it away,” Donald hissed. “I don’t want anything to do with it.”_

_“I don’t think you have a choice,” Ducklair said. “They tried to turn you into one of those... Coolflames, you call them? I think it was your magic that saved you. I think it’s your magic that’s been saving you all this time.”_

_“What?” Donald asked._

_“I’ve watched you take so much punishment,” Ducklair said. “Things that would kill any other man. And you heal faster than any science could explain. You might not want anything to do with your magic, but it’s saved your life tonight.”_

_Donald sighed. “How?”_

_“From what I understand, these coolflames are created by the Evronians draining their emotional energy,” Ducklair said. “When we saw this happen last time, it took... minutes. You were hooked up to that thing for an hour, and it didn’t do anything. I think it was attacking your magic, which replenished faster than they could drain it.”_

_“And until they drained my magic, they couldn’t get at the rest of me,” Donald said. “They’ll get more efficient. They’ll figure out a way to do it.”_

_“Let’s hope they don’t,” Ducklair said._

_“Can you get there first?” Donald asked._

_Ducklair paused. “That would kill you. You_ know _that would kill you, you have to know that.”_

_“I don’t care,” Donald said. “Next scout ship comes, we take some of the equipment.”_

_“So I can reverse engineer the process,” Ducklair said. “So I can_ kill _you? Donald, you’re too young to_ — _”_

 _“I’m too young to, what, die?” Donald said, snarling. The red heart emblem slowly appeared in front of his chest. “You don’t know that. You don’t know_ anything _.”_

_“PK.”_

_Donald looked up at Uno._

_“They won’t stop if you’re gone,” Uno said. “They’ll go after everyone else. Me and Ducklair. SHUSH. Your family.”_

_Donald closed his eyes and turned away. The red heart emblem dissipated._

_“I can’t do it,” Donald said. “Not by myself.”_

_“You’re not alone, Donald,” Ducklair said. “I promise.”_

* * *

_Donald sat on the floor of the houseboat, in front of an inflatable nest filled with blankets wrapped around three eggs that looked so much smaller and more fragile than they had the week before. He wiped the last tears he had off his face._

_“What the hell am I gonna do?” he whispered._

_There was a knock at the door leading to the deck. He sighed and got up to answer it. Mickey was on the other side, with a worried expression and a six-pack of beer._

_“Hey, um...” He scratched the back of his neck. “I heard about what happened. I wasn’t sure what to... but I figured you could use a drink.”_

_Donald stepped aside to let him in._

_“How’d you find me?” Donald asked._

_“Christ, Don, you’re not a fugitive,” Mickey said, putting the beer on the table._

_“Yeah, but your plane of existence isn’t exactly in the neighbourhood,_ ‘your Majesty’, _” Donald said, rolling his eyes. Mickey shook his head._

_“I tried the manor, but I’m sure you can imagine how that went,” Mickey said. “Duckworth told me you were here.”_

_Mickey noticed the nest on the floor and his face fell._

_“Oh, god...”_

_“Della’s,” Donald said, crossing his arms._

_“I didn’t know there were kids,” Mickey said._

_“Most people don’t,” Donald said. “We kept that part pretty tight under wraps.”_

_“Yeah, that... that makes sense,” he said. “Wow...”_

_“Look, I appreciate you coming by, but do you have a point?” Donald asked._

_Mickey blinked. “Yeah, I thought I was coming to see my_ friend _after he lost his_ sister _, my mistake.”_

_“Yeah, it kinda was,” Donald said._

_“I can’t believe you!” Mickey said. “We’re all worried about you_ — _Jose and Panchito have been trying to get in touch with you for days, you’re ignoring Goofy’s calls, hell, even_ Pete _was asking about it.”_

_“I can handle it myself,” Donald said._

_“You don’t have to!” Mickey yelled. “That’s what we’re trying to say!”_

_“Except I do!” Donald said. The heart emblem slowly grew over his chest. “I have to protect what’s left of my family, even if they won’t protect themselves. And you_ know _that none of you can protect them like I can!”_

_"Donald," Mickey said, pointing at his chest. Donald looked and saw the emblem, sighing and turning away._

_"How long?" Mickey asked._

_"It never stopped," Donald said. "It's been like that since I got back."_

_"And what happens when that becomes the thing they need protection from?" Mickey asked._

_"I already dealt with it," Donald said. "It won't happen. And I'll make sure it won't happen to them."_

_“So you’re cutting everyone out of your life,” Mickey said, “on the off-chance that these kids might be at all like you or Della.”_

_“That about sums it up,” Donald said._

_Mickey sighed. “Someone save me from the stubbornness of the McDuck clan.”_

_“Look at it this way,” Donald said. “This is the first thing I’ve had to live for since the end of the war.”_

_“That doesn’t exactly make me feel better,” Mickey said. He shook his head and headed for the stairs back up to the deck._

_“I know you won’t want to take it,” Mickey said before he left. “But if you ever need anything, we’re here for you.”_

_“You’re right,” Donald said. “I don’t want to take it.”_

_Mickey shrugged. “We all do things we don’t want to do.”_

_Donald didn’t respond, and Mickey left. Donald opened one of the bottles of beer and sat back on the floor next to the nest as the red heart emblem faded from his chest._

_“All right boys,” he sighed. “Now let’s start thinking of some better names, shall we?”_


	16. Couldn’t Seem to Die

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I couldn't seem to die.  
>  _Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it..._ "  
> — Hamilton, "Hurricane"
> 
> Chapter content warning: Minor sexual assault (Non-consensual kissing), vomit

Donald was pinned to the floor by the spider legs of the Erigus. He plunged the black half of the sword into the Erigus’ robotic lower half and the cybernetics sparked and the Erigus hissed and retreated. Donald dragged himself to his feet. 

“Fight me yourself, you _coward_ ,” Donald said. He slashed one of the columns and it buckled, the sound echoing in the room. Evron laughed.

“What?” Donald asked. “I’m good enough to kill, but not enough to defeat? Come on, Evron.”

Donald walked towards the throne, dragging the halves of the swords along the floor, kicking up sparks. 

“Show me what you’re made of.”

“You know _exactly_ what I’m made of,” Evron said. 

One of Evron’s tubes burst out of the damaged column and latched on to Donald’s back, right between his wings. The red heart emblem glowed over Donald’s chest.

“Your Heart is _strong_ , to live with it shattered this way,” Evron said. “To _choose_ this.”

“I chose nothing,” Donald said. “I protect my family, my friends. And I _will_ stop you.”

“Then you will die.”

Donald pulled the tube from his back and lunged forward, striking the throne with his sword and breaking it in two. He jumped up and slashed at the wall behind the broken throne. Evron’s arm burst through the crack, reaching for Donald. He dodged and cut the hand off at the wrist. Sparks flew from the damaged cybernetics and Evron pulled himself through the wall. Donald slashed at his chest with the black sword and Evron’s robe fell away. 

At the center of his chest, just below the second face, was a glass chamber filled with an ever-changing black shape that swirled and jumped around inside its container. At the very center was the same red heart emblem. 

“So that’s where you went,” Donald muttered.

* * *

Mallory sat in the pilot’s chair in the cockpit of Penumbra’s ship. Gyro gripped onto the headrest of the copilot chair, breathing heavily. 

“Are you sure you know how to fly this thing?” Mallory asked.

“It’s based off of my design, of course I can fly it,” Gyro said. “I just... need a moment.”

“Are you okay?” she said.

He shook his head. “It’s nothing. The morphine’s just wearing off.”

“Sorry, you’re _high_?” Mallory asked. “That’s it, I’m driving. Walk me through it.”

“I don’t— ngh!” He stepped forward and clutched his chest.

“You’re gonna tear your stitches,” Mallory muttered, forcing him down into the copilot’s chair and strapping him in. “Violet!”

“Yes, Dr. Starling?” Violet stuck her head in the cockpit.

“Keep him alive,” she said, pointing to Gyro. 

“Right.” She put a hand on his chest and started a healing spell.

Gosalyn came in with the project Mallory had been working on. Huey had his arms filled with technical diagrams.

“Dewey and Louie are distracting Penumbra,” Huey said. “These plans all have Ducklair’s signature on them.”

“You noticed that too?” Mallory muttered, looking over the controls.

“Ignition, key switch,” Gyro said.

“Right.” She turned the key and the engines started up. She pulled the throttle and the ship lurched forward. She pulled on the control wheel and they were airborne.

“Something about this doesn’t make sense,” Huey said, looking over Ducklair’s notes. “These energy equations look unfinished.”

He pulled his Junior Woodchuck Guidebook out of his hat. Gosalyn went over and looked at the plans. 

“This Maxwell equation is unfinished,” Gosalyn said, pointing it out. “Look, it describes a static field. The real one—"

"Puts it in motion," Huey said. "Good eye. Ducklair would have known that. He... a static field?"

"Yeah," Gosalyn said. "That doesn't make sense though, electromagnetic energy doesn't act like that. And what is the Drake Equation doing there?"

"That's Uncle Donald’s handwriting," Huey said. "And the subscripts are... this is encoded."

"Your uncle put a code in the math?" Gosalyn said.

"No, I think Ducklair did," Huey said. "Donald figured some of it out but..."

Gosalyn pulled out some pens. “Start writing.”

They wrote down expressions and variables in scrap places on the diagrams as the ship lurched through the air. 

“Can you fly a little more smoothly?” Gosalyn asked.

“Well, sweety, I’m trying,” Mallory said, jerking the control wheel to the left. “I can’t see a thing in this rain, it’s everything I can not to crash.”

The door to the cockpit slid open and the coolflame Launchpad was standing behind it, his head slightly tilted. Mallory and Gyro looked at each other.

“Look, you’re the one that said I was too stoned to drive,” Gyro said.

Mallory shrugged, getting up. “It’s worth a shot. Launchpad, can you get us to the Cube?”

Launchpad paused, then went and sat down in the pilot’s chair, taking the controls. He opened up the throttle and the ship stabilized as he flew towards the Cube.

“Are we actually going to land, or..?” Mallory asked.

Gyro shook his head. “Don’t bet on it.”

Mallory and the kids braced themselves just before the ship crashed into the docking bay, sliding along the floor and skidding to a stop just before hitting the back wall.

“Not the _worst_ landing he’s had,” Huey said.

“Yeah,” Gosalyn said, looking back at the notes they had made. “So what does all this mean?”

“I’m not sure,” Huey said. “It looks like a kinetics equation, but I’m not sure what this variable stands for.”

“Let me see.” Violet looked over their work. “It’s magic. Instead of physical or chemical energy, it... it calculates magical potential energy.”

“I can adapt the device to take this into account,” Mallory said. “But we still don’t know what it’s for.”

“I think I do,” Gyro said. “Donald mentioned that they needed to get the magical energy off the ship, that he couldn’t just make more of it himself. The plan when they left was to just take the engine block and figure it out later, but 20 bucks says that device was plan A.”

Gosalyn looked at the device her mother had built and picked it up. She put it around her right arm and it snapped into place like an arm brace, the tubes hanging off of the hinge at the elbow.

“The Jewel of Atlantis could store all of that energy and then some,” Huey said. 

“Lena...” Gosalyn breathed.

* * *

Drake heard a small sound of glass breaking and went back into the holding area to check on Fenton. He was kneeling on the ground, the glass visor in pieces in front of him, cuts on his hands where shards of glass had torn them up. Drake couldn’t see his face.

“Fenton?”

Fenton looked up and Drake stepped back in shock. Fenton’s left pupil was blown out and the white had turned a deep red. Blood flowed out of his tear duct, down his beak, dripping onto the floor.

“What’s the matter, Drake?” Fenton’s voice was overlaid with Evron’s mechanical, even tone. “Is there something on my face?”

Fenton stood, his movements slow and halting. Drake retreated until his back was against the wall.

“Evron,” Drake said.

“You think you’re a clever little bird, don’t you?” Evron sneered. “Trick questions and fancy toys."

"I beat you, didn't I?" Drake said.

Evron laughed, a horrible, halting sound made worse by how hoarse Fenton’s voice went when he did it. 

"I'll take that as a 'no', then?" Drake said.

"You are hardly a challenge," Evron said. 

"Which is why I'm in the cage," Drake said. "And you're out here. Oh, wait."

"I can do far more damage in here," Evron said. He picked up a glass shard from the visor and gripped it tight in Fenton’s hand, blood dripping down the edges.

"No." Drake stepped towards the cell, gripping the bars. "Evron, please."

Evron held the shard to Fenton’s chest.

"This one has an... irregularity in his heart," Evron said. "Would you like me to fix it?"

The tip of the shard broke through skin and a drop of blood rolled down Fenton's chest.

Drake closed his eyes. "...what do you want?"

"Is that all it took?" Evron asked. "And I had such plans..."

"Of course it is," Drake said. "And if you don't put that down I will rip you out of him atom by atom."

Evron laughed again. He dropped the glass and it clattered on the floor. 

"Small threats made by an insignificant creature," Evron said, standing up. He walked over to the bars where Drake was standing. "Do you want to know what I know? What I know about _you_?"

"What do you know about me?" Drake asked.

Fenton's hand reached through the bars and Evron gently touched his face, Fenton's blood staining his feathers. 

"He's calling for you," Evron said, voice barely above a whisper. “He sees your pain. He asks for... _release_.”

Evron leaned through the bars and kissed Drake. Revulsion filled his chest and he tried to back away, but Evron’s vice grip pulled him up against the bars.

“Let me go.” Drake could feel his eyes burn. “ _Please._ ”

“I’m the one that’s locked up, remember?” Evron said. “You want me to stop? _Make me._ ”

Evron kissed him again and Drake felt the bile rise in his throat. Drake punched him in the gut and Evron staggered back. Drake ran out to the bullpen area and found a trash can to throw up in. He felt a large hand placed gently on his back. 

“What happened?” Bouncer asked.

“It’s nothing,” Drake said. “We’ve got to let Gan- er, _Megavolt_ know we’re here.”

Bouncer shook his head. “Phones are out.”

Drake sighed, sitting on the floor. “There’s got to be something.”

He looked around the station, spotting the radio charging station on the other side of the room. He looked up at Bouncer.

“Did Captain Cabrera have her radio on her?” he asked.

Bouncer shrugged.

“It’s worth a shot,” Drake said.


	17. All Around Your Face

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I saw the world crashing all around your face  
> Never really knowing it was always mesh and lace."  
> — Modern English, "I Melt With You"

Mallory and Gyro finished the last adjustments to the Evronian device. 

“Okay, now what?” Mallory asked.

“We’ve got to get this to Lena,” Gosalyn said. 

“This ship is huge,” Huey said. “She could be anywhere.”

“I don’t think so,” Gyro said. “Della was going to go to the engine room, but Donald was going to fight Evron.”

“So she’s in the throne room,” Gosalyn groaned. “And about as far away from the engines as she can get.”

“Where are the engines?” Violet asked.

“There was a panel out here that Uno used to bring up a map.” Gyro stood up and left the ship, walking across the docking bay to the panel. The others followed him. He opened the map on the screen.

“That’s just below the server room,” Gosalyn said, pointing the engines out on the map.

“Which is right below Evron,” Gyro said. “We’ll have to split up.”

Gosalyn sighed. She gripped her hockey stick tight.

“Huey, Violet, you go get Lena,” she said. “I’ll get Mom and Gyro to the engine room.”

“Shouldn’t an adult go with them?” Mallory said. 

“No, she’s right,” Huey said, nodding. “We’ll get her there.”

Gosalyn nodded back. Violet and Huey ran off in the direction of the throne room.

“Sweety...” Mallory said.

“Let’s go,” Gosalyn said.

They ran down to the engine room. Gosalyn was the first through the door and when she got in, she froze.

“Oh, no...” 

Uno buzzed around the engine, tinkering with things that Gosalyn couldn’t quite figure out what they were. Della was arms deep in machinery and Lena hovered above it all, looking for an angle.

“What’s wrong?” Lena flew around the engine and landed in front of Gosalyn. “What are you doing here?”

“You’re here,” Gosalyn said.

“Um...” Lena flushed. “Gos, I—”

“No, you’re _here_ ,” Gosalyn clarified. “You’re not with Donald.”

“What’s going on?” Della walked over the others, hands and face covered in grease. "Gyro, I thought I told you to stay at the manor."

"Someone has to warn them," Gosalyn said, turning to her mother. Mallory kissed her forehead.

"Go," she said. "We'll get started."

Gosalyn turned back to Lena. "Lena, I—"

"I know," Lena said. "Me too."

Gosalyn ran out, gripping her hockey stick tight.

"You need this," Gyro said, holding up the Evronian device. "Mallory's been working on it for Donald."

"What does it do?" Uno asked.

"It's going to help Lena store the energy from the engine in her arm," Mallory said. 

Lena looked down at her right arm, a low light shimmering under the surface of the crystal. She clenched her fist.

"Science _and_ magic..." she whispered. "How does it work?"

Mallory took Lena aside to help her put the device on. Della turned to Gyro.

"You didn't have to come," Della said. "Mal could have done this on her own."

"I needed to be here," Gyro said. "I couldn't... if something happened again... and I could have..."

Della put a hand on Gyro’s arm. "Remember the part where I said 'self-flagellating pity party'? Yeah, you've _got_ to get over yourself.”

“Okay, we got it on,” Mallory said. “Now how does it _work_?”

“They’ve got these tubes and stuff,” Della said. “Sucks the life out of you— pretty literally.”

“Where can we get to the fuel tank?” Gyro asked.

“Over here,” Della said, walking around to a large port with a wheel lock. “It’s solid metal, I don’t know if those are going to break through it.”

“I don’t think we do,” Gyro said. “I think we just open it.”

“We’ll get fried!” Lena said. “Or... _you’ll_ get fried, I’d probably be okay.”

“You’d have to put up a shield,” Della said. “And even then, I’m not totally sure that would work.”

They all paused.

“We have to do it,” Mallory said. “Even if it blows... that’s still a win scenario.”

“Your _kid_ is up here,” Della said.

“...so’s yours,” Gyro muttered, looking away.

Della wheeled around. “What!?”

Gyro adjusted his glasses. “Huey was the one who figured out how to make it work. He and Violet went to the throne room to get Lena, that’s... that’s why Gosalyn had to leave so quickly. She had to stop them before they got there.”

“No,” Della said. “We figure it out and find another way. How the hell could you drag my _kid_ into this?”

Lena turned to Uno. “Can you get everyone off?”

“There’s an evacuation order I can issue,” Uno said. “It would take time, though.”

“Do it,” Lena said. “You guys better go too.”

“Lena.” Della stepped forward. “You don’t have to do this alone.”

“And we have to do this now,” Mallory said. “As soon as Uno calls the evacuation, Evron’s going to know what’s happening and send everyone he’s got left here.”

“She’ll be defenseless,” Gyro said.

“I’ll have a shield,” Lena said. “I'll do what I can to protect everyone. It’ll be okay.”

“It’ll only hold for so long,” Della said. “And we don’t know what state you’ll be in when it’s over.”

Mallory sighed. “I built the thing. If something goes wrong, I have to be here.”

Della looked to Gyro, who shook his head.

“Don’t ask,” he said quietly. “ _Please_.”

Della nodded. “Okay. Let’s go to work.”

* * *

Capt. Cabrera, Gandra, and Morgana had barricaded themselves in a Waddle Store on 14th street. Rain slowly leaked through the wall of rock and shale that Morgana had called out of the ground to fortify the entrance. Gandra had found a marker and was drawing mustaches on the wall-sized pictures of Mark Beaks. 

“Is that really the priority right now?” Morgana asked.

“We’re trapped in a store with his face,” Gandra said. “I do what I must.”

“Do the others know how bad it is down here?” Capt. Cabrera asked. “Why did Donald and Lena go into that thing, we need them here.”

“Donald has to face Evron,” Morgana said. “Lena... I’m sure there’s a reason.”

“That’s comforting,” Capt. Cabrera muttered.

“What makes you say that?” Gandra asked.

“Say what?” Morgana asked.

“That Donald, specifically, has to face Evron,” Gandra said.

Morgana paused.

“After the wedding was attacked, I attempted to devine the fates of these events,” she said. “They were clouded in a magic I have no knowledge of, I did not see much.”

“What did you see?” Capt. Cabrera asked.

“Donald confronts Evron,” she said. “And it ends in fire.”

The rain dripped softly on the floor. A rising static came from Capt. Cabrera’s radio.

“Captain Cabrera?” Darkwing’s voice cut through the static. “Gloria, it’s Darkwing Duck. Are you there?”

She grabbed her radio. “ _Mijo_ , where are you?”

“Um, precinct on... where are we?” A muffled voice said something inaudible. “13th street. 42nd Precinct. Is Megavolt with you?”

“Right here,” Gandra said, walking over to Capt. Cabrera. “What’s going on?”

“I got a piece of Evron locked in a holding cell,” Darkwing said. “Looking for an extraction.”

“Fenton...” Capt. Cabrera breathed.

Gandra shook her head. “The streets are crawling with drones.”

“Evron’s gonna kill him, Dee,” Darkwing said.

Morgana took the radio from Capt. Cabrera. “Darling, I’ll get them there.”

They could almost hear him sigh through the static. “Thank you, Morgana.”

On the other end of the line, Drake put the radio down and could feel some of the tension release in his shoulders. He looked over at Evron, kneeling on the floor, in the middle of the cell.

“I don’t make idle threats,” Drake said.

Evron scoffed. “She tried to get me out once, what makes you think she can do it this time?”

“If I told you, it’d ruin the surprise,” Drake said. 

“And if he’s dead before they get here?”

Drake shrugged. “That’d be pointless. The idea is to take the planet. Take its technology. You couldn’t take the helmet off because you want the Gizmosuit. You can’t pilot it if he’s dead. You need him alive as much as I do, and you’re not going to cut off your nose to spite your face.”

“Clever, clever bird...” Evron shook his head. “Except that is exactly what I would do.”

Evron lifted the glass shard to Fenton’s throat and Drake unlocked the door to the cell, running in and grabbing Fenton’s arm away from his neck. Evron grinned.

“Got you.”

He pulled Fenton’s arm out of Drake’s grip and plunged the glass shard into Drake’s gut. Drake gasped, the wind rushing out of his lungs. Evron leaned in close. 

“That’s why you’re in here, and I’m out there.”

Evron walked out of the cell. Drake collapsed to the floor. He could feel his blood pool under him as he struggled to breathe.

“All right, Mallard,” he muttered. “ _Get back up_.”

* * *

Lena stood in front of the door to the fuel tank in a ready stance. Mallory held the wheel in her hands, ready to open it. 

“You sure this is going to work?” Lena asked.

“The numbers say it will,” Mallory said. “Donald thinks it will.”

Lena nodded. “Good enough for me.”

She threw up a shield around her and the tank. She held out her right arm as Mallory started to open the door. Della and Gyro stood back, braced for impact. Gyro looked to Della.

“Della, I...” The words got caught in his throat. “I don’t know how to...”

“Shut up,” she said softly. 

She pulled him into a deep kiss. He froze for a moment before kissing back. 

The room filled with a bright light.


	18. Burn Out Bright

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Now I'm looking to the sky to save me  
> Looking for a sign of life  
> Looking for something to help me burn out bright"  
> — Foo Fighters, "Learn to Fly"

The light faded and Della stepped back from Gyro, staring up at him breathlessly. 

“We’re...”

“Not dead,” Gyro said, almost panting. “Um...”

“Later,” she said.

“Oh, thank god...” he muttered.

“Okay, Lena, how did it... oh, no...”

Della rushed over to Mallory, who had collapsed on the floor. Mallory was curled up in a ball, holding her hands close to her chest.

“I can’t... I can’t...” she whispered.

“Let me see, Mal,” Della said softly, holding her wrists. 

Mallory held out her hands. The down had burned off her palms completely to the skin which was red, bloodied and blistered from the heat. Della helped her sit up.

“Oh, god,” Della said. “Lena, she— _oh._ ”

Lena stepped back from the fuel tank and Mallory’s device melted off her arm. The crystal glowed with white flames and her robes had turned a pale blue. 

“I think it worked,” Lena said.

“That’s great, kiddo,” Della said. “But Mal needs your help.”

Lena looked at Mallory’s hands and just barely touched them. There was a flash of light and they were completely healed.

“Is that better?” Della asked.

Mallory blinked, touching her face.

“I... I can’t see,” she said.

“What?” Della said.

“The light,” Gyro said, kneeling next to Mallory. “She looked too long— it must have burned her eyes too.”

“Let me,” Lena said. She touched Mallory’s forehead. “Did that work?”

Mallory paused, before shaking her head, tears forming. 

“No,” she said.

“It could heal on its own,” Gyro said. “Temporary blindness due to exposure to light can heal within 24 hours. This being magic, I wouldn’t expect it to act normally, but...”

“Wait, why aren’t you guys blind too?” Mallory asked.

“Cause they were making out,” Lena said. 

Mallory sighed.

“Lena!” Della said.

“No, I just owe Fenton 20 bucks,” she said. “The kids, they went after Donald. You guys should—”

“You guys should go back to the ship,” Lena said. “I’ll go get Donald.”

Della paused. “Are you sure you can do this alone?”

Lena looked at her arm. “I’m not alone.”

Lena pushed off the floor and flew down the hall. Gyro helped Mallory up and she clung to his arm. 

“They’ll be okay, Della,” Gyro said. “Donald’s... gonna be okay.”

“I know,” Della said. “I guess I just... didn’t know him like I thought I did.”

“I know the feeling,” Mallory said. “If you’d told me five years ago that faking my own death would lead to Drake becoming Darkwing Duck for real, I would have laughed a little too hard.”

“I feel like that’s not quite analogous,” Gyro said. “But we better hurry and get back to the ship. The Cube’s running on reserves, and when that runs out...”

“This thing’s gonna fall out of the sky,” Della said.

* * *

Drake dragged himself to his feet, stumbling as he did. He grabbed the bars of the cell to steady himself and caught his breath. 

“Come on, you got this,” he said.

He pressed his hand to the wound to try and stop the bleeding. He cut his hand on the glass still in his gut. He staggered out to the bullpen, where Fenton was lying unconscious on the floor in front of Bouncer.

“He weren’t talking like Gizmoduck,” Bouncer said. “Thought I’d put him out before he made too much trouble.”

Drake started to laugh, which hurt more than he’d admit. 

“It wouldn’t work on you,” he said. “The manipulation, the mind games. You’re just... not that complicated.”

Bouncer shrugged. “I guess.”

The door to the street opened and Morgana, Gandra, and Capt. Cabrera rushed in. Morgana blasted back several drones from the door. One swiped at Gandra and she electrocuted it, tearing its arm off. Capt. Cabrera got the door shut and Morgana piled desks in front of it. 

“Okay we’re...” Gandra turned around. “Here. What the hell, Wing?”

“Hey,” Drake said.

“ _Mierda_ , _mi pollito_ , what happened?” Capt. Cabrera asked, running over to Fenton on the floor. Drake moved as fast as he could to pull her away. 

“He’s... not himself,” Drake said. 

“ _Mijo_ , you’re hurt,” she said, looking down at his wound.

“Yeah, just got a little... stabbed...” He was running out of breath and he could feel his legs giving out. 

“Darling, you need to lie down,” Morgana said. 

“No, I need... Dee, I need you to turn your nanites back on,” Drake said.

Gandra looked to Fenton. “Are you sure?”

He shook his head. “No, but they’re the only things that’ll get Evron out of him.”

“How do we know it won’t just attack Gizmoduck?” she asked. “And not... you know, but the Gizmoduck hardware?”

“We’d need something to tell it to look for,” Drake said.

“Like that?” Capt. Cabrera said, pointing to the severed drone arm on the floor. 

“Exactly,” Drake said.

“Can you help me with him?” Gandra asked Bouncer.

“Sure,” he shrugged.

Bouncer and Gandra took Fenton and the arm back to the holding cells. Drake sighed and collapsed on the floor, nearly knocking Capt. Cabrera over. Morgana rushed to him, starting a healing spell immediately. 

“Honestly, darling, I have an immortality curse and you are _still_ going to be the death of me,” she said.

“Oh, please,” Drake said. “We’re gonna live forever, Morgie.”

* * *

Donald rushed at Evron again. Evron smacked him down with the handless arm and he lost his grip on his swords. They flew across the room as Evron pinned Donald to the floor. He could feel bones breaking in his wings. Tubes and wires twisted around his body and he could feel them piercing through and crawling under his skin. The emblem over his chest grew faint and it grew stronger inside Evron’s chest. 

“The Hearts of others could only sustain me for so long,” Evron said. “You allowed me to massacre _billions_ just to keep your little secrets. Including that oaf and the little girl. They thought you would save them— well, you and your friends.”

The piece of magic clinging to his heart fluttered like a weak flame as Evron started to drain him again. 

“You got your magic back,” Evron said. “This could take a while.”

There was a loud banging on the door. 

“Seems that we have guests,” Evron said. 

The doors slid open and Violet and Huey ran in. 

“Uncle Donald!” Huey yelled.

“No...” Donald breathed.

“We gotta help,” Huey said. He saw the two halves of the chi-blade on the floor. The black half was closest to him and he picked it up with both hands. 

“Come on,” he said. 

Violet reached for the white half of the sword. She pulled her hand back as soon as she touched it. 

“Ow!” she said, shaking her hand.

“What?”

“I can’t touch it.” She formed a mace with her magic. “I’ll stick with this.”

“Erigus, take care of our guests,” Evron said. 

The Erigus scuttled out of the shadows. The hole in his abdomen sparked and he moved to stand between the kids and Donald. 

Violet looked to Huey. “I got him, go get Donald.”

Huey nodded. The Erigus lunged for Huey, who ran and slid underneath him. Violet hit the Erigus with her mace and he stumbled over his legs. 

“Come and get it,” Violet said.

Huey stabbed Evron’s arm and he hissed, pulling back from Donald. Huey kept a death-grip on the sword as Evron lifted his arm. His tail twisted around him, bringing his face right up to Huey as he hung from the sword.

“And who are you?” Evron asked.

Huey froze. 

“Huey!” Donald called. “The heart!”

Huey looked at the glass chamber containing the mass of shadow and red heart emblem. He struggled to pull the sword out of Evron’s arm. 

Donald pulled himself to his feet. His wings felt heavier than ever and he was unsteady from the draining. He raised his hand, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. 

“ _Hyouton_.”

Frost crept along the edges of the glass. Evron shook his arm and flung Huey off the sword. Donald pushed off the floor and flew just long enough to catch Huey before crashing down. 

“We gotta get the sword back,” Donald said. 

Huey held tight to Donald. “What is all of this?” 

Donald paused. “I promise, I will tell you everything once this is over.”

Huey nodded. 

“Okay,” Donald said. “Go get the other half.”

“Right.”

Donald stood and walked towards Evron. Evron reached forward with the handless arm and Donald grabbed the hilt of his sword and bisected the arm all the way up to Evron’s shoulder. Sparks and metal flew all around the room. 

“Uncle Donald!” 

Huey picked up the light half of the sword and threw it towards him. Donald grabbed it with his magic and pulled it towards him. Both swords in hand, Donald kicked off and plunged them into the glass chamber. The glass shattered, and the blades crossed in the center of the heart emblem. Evron’s body fell to the floor with a thunderous crash. The shadows around the emblem wrapped around Donald, obscuring him from sight.

“No!” Huey cried out. 

The shadows swirled in midair. A beam of light pierced through them, then another, and another. The two halves of the chi-blade clattered to the floor. Soon, the shadows were replaced by a silvery heart with the craterous face of a moon. Huey stepped towards it.

“Uncle Donald?” he said quietly.

The Erigus overtook Violet, pinning her to the floor.

“Could use some help over here!” Violet yelled.

A hockey stick slammed down onto the Erigus’ head, cracking the glass skull and knocking him out. Gosalyn pushed him off of Violet and helped her up.

“You called?” Gosalyn asked. “Where’s Donald?”

Violet pointed up at the giant heart floating over the broken throne. Gosalyn blinked.

“Well, that’s new,” she said.


	19. All This Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "So wake me up when it's all over  
> When I'm wiser and I'm older  
> All this time I was finding myself and I  
> Didn't know I was lost"  
> — Avicii, "Wake Me Up"

Donald stood in a white void. The heart emblem glowed bright over his chest before fading to blue and fading away altogether. He looked at his hands as the black on his feathers started to bead and drip off, staining the ground in front of him. He stepped back, tracking black with him. He looked back at his wings, stains dragging under them. He backed up as the black dripped off faster and faster until there was a large black smear at what seemed to be the center of the void. What was left was Donald’s off-white feathers, mostly clean, and his black sailor suit had replaced the robes. He looked behind him and the wings were gone. It was over.

“I... won?” he breathed. 

A blurred shadow walked forward towards the smear. Donald could recognize that silhouette anywhere.

“Mickey,” he said.

Mickey Mouse stood on the other end of the smear. His keyblade hung at his hip and he stuck his hands in his pockets.

“Hey, Donald,” Mickey said. 

Donald sighed and dropped to his knees. “It’s over.”

“Looks like,” Mickey said, walking around the smear to stand next to Donald. “What was it?”

“An alien warlord,” Donald said. “Trying to assimilate the universe into his technological empire.”

“Ah,” Mickey said. “Cold, calculating. Putting himself over everyone. Makes sense. And absolutely _nothing_ like the Donald I know.”

Donald almost laughed at that.

“So what now?” Mickey asked. “Are you going back?”

“I...” he paused. “I didn’t think I’d be _alive_.”

“You don’t have to just yet,” Mickey said. “You know how time works there, you could come with me.”

“And what are you offering?” Donald asked. “Another war?”

“There’s this kid,” Mickey said. “He doesn’t know it yet, but he needs your help.”

“No rest for the wicked?”

Mickey shrugged. “Something like that. I can wait though. If you do want to go back.”

“I can’t,” Donald said. “The chi-blade didn’t come with me, I can’t leave without it, and I can’t use your keyblade to leave either. It’s locked from the outside.”

“Is there anyone who can get you back?” Mickey asked. 

Donald shook his head. “I didn’t tell them how it works. Any of it.”

“Doesn’t mean they can’t figure it out.” Mickey put his hand on Donald’s shoulder. “What’s that thing your Uncle says? ‘Tougher than the toughies and smarter than the smarties’?”

“ _And_ sharper than the sharpies,” Donald added. “Most people don’t know that one. Huey and Lena are out there. If anyone can figure it out, it’ll be those two.”

“Lena?” Mickey said. “I thought your sister’s kids were all boys.”

“She’s Webby’s friend.”

Mickey paused. “Yeah, that doesn’t help.”

Donald sighed. “Well, I guess we have time.”

* * *

Gosalyn stepped towards the heart. 

“So how do we get him out?” she asked. 

“I don’t know,” Huey said. 

“What about the swords?” Violet asked.

“The swords that you can’t touch and I need both hands just to hold one?” Huey asked.

“Yes,” Violet said.

Huey paused. “You can’t touch them and I need both hands just to hold one of them.”

“Oh, come on,” Gosalyn said, approaching the swords. “It can’t be that— ow!”

She barely touched the white flames before stepping back and shaking her hand.

“What the hell are these things?” Gosalyn asked.

Huey dragged the two swords together. There was a quick flash and they fused together again. A pair of meter-long keys crossed on each other, surrounded by a lace of metal, with a blade extending from the pins.

“It’s some kind of... key-sword,” Huey said. 

“Try it,” Gosalyn said.

Huey grabbed the dual hilts and tried picking the keyblade up. He got it off the floor and immediately toppled over.

“How the hell did he carry this thing?” Huey muttered.

“Magic,” Violet shrugged.

“Magic...” Gosalyn put a hand over her beak. “That’s it! We need—”

She turned around and Lena flew into the room, staff in hand, the glowing light around her arm leaving a trail behind her. 

“Guys, we need to— what happened here?” Lena asked, looking at Evron’s body and the small, heart-shaped moon floating over everyone’s heads. 

“Donald’s trapped inside,” Gosalyn said. “And Huey needs a lift.”

Huey grabbed the sword again, and Lena put her arms around Huey’s waist.

“You sure about this?” she asked.

“No, but it’s worth a shot,” he said.

“Fair enough.”

She pushed off the floor and almost immediately fell. She caught herself, her wings flapping hard to get them up to the right height.

“Geez, kid, your mom didn’t weigh this much,” she muttered.

“Is now really the time for bad jokes?” Huey asked.

As they brought the sword closer to the heart, a light revealed a keyhole at the center of it. 

“Woah,” Huey said. “Okay, bring me in closer.”

The sword slid into the keyhole and Huey turned it until he heard a loud thunk. He felt the sword start to vibrate.

“Get back, get back, get back!” he said. 

Lena backed up as the heart slowly dropped to the floor. A bright light split the face down the middle in a line and the two halves swung open like a door. 

“Everyone shut your eyes!” Lena called out. 

Gosalyn put her hands over her face and Violet and Huey turned away as a bright light filled the room. It faded when the face swung shut. A hand turned the chi-blade back to lock it and pulled it out of the heart as it faded away.

“Took you all long enough,” Donald said. 

“Uncle Donald!” Huey jumped out of Lena’s arms and ran over to Donald, hugging him tight. 

“I knew you’d figure it out,” Donald said quietly. 

That was when the alarms finally went off.

“What’s that?” Gosalyn asked.

“Oh, the thing worked,” Lena said, pointing to her arm. “But we gotta get out of here before the Cube falls on the city and crushes everything.”

“Is that all?” Donald asked. “Let’s go, kids.”

* * *

Morgana finished her healing spell and sat on the floor next to Drake, exhaling sharply. 

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

“Like I got stabbed by someone with my husband’s face,” Drake groaned.

Morgana shrugged. “Darling, I can’t fix that.”

“I know,” he said, pulling the brim of his hat down over his face. “He’s going to feel _terrible_ about this, you know.”

“You’re not exactly feeling wonderful yourself,” Morgana said. 

“You know that I mean,” Drake said. 

Morgana paused. “Yes, I do.”

Drake sighed. “Well, I’m not hearing screams, so Gandra must—”

There was a loud crash outside and Capt. Cabrera stepped out into the bullpen. 

“Everything okay?” she asked. 

Drake and Morgana shrugged. Capt. Cabrera drew her pistol and leaned against the wall. She slowly moved the blinds. Her shoulders relaxed.

“ _Dios_...” she muttered. “It’s over.”

“What?” Morgana said, standing up and walking over.

Drake dragged himself to his feet, wincing. _Something_ inside him still hurt, and he was going to have to deal with that later, but he pulled himself over to the window. The drones had all fallen to the ground. Up in the sky, escape pods and scout ships were leaving the Cube faster than Drake thought they could move. There was a flash in the sky. 

“The Moon fleet’s here,” Drake said. 

The _Iremias_ tore out of the docking bay, Della at the controls. She turned on the controls for the communications.

“This is Della Duck hailing on all frequencies,” she said. “Do not, I repeat, do not fire on vessels escaping the Cube. And stay the hell out of the blast radius.”

Morgana, Drake, and Capt. Cabrera got outside. 

“They’re going to need a place to land,” Drake said. 

“I’ve got them,” Morgana said, raising her hands. The shield dropped and the _Iremias_ flew down and landed. 

Inside, Donald turned to Lena.

“I need your staff,” he said.

“I can help,” she said.

“You use that magic, we can’t get it back,” he said. 

She handed him her staff.

“Della, on my cue, have the fleet fire at the debris.”

“What cue?” she asked.

“You’ll see it.”

Donald ran out and aimed at the Cube. Runes danced around his feet on the ground.

“ _Zettaflare_!”

A beam of light burst from the staff and engulfed the cube. It burned bright for a moment and the Cube broke apart, falling in burning heaps of machinery towards the city.

Della switched the comms back on. “Fire!”

The Moon fleet fired at the debris, vaporizing it before it could hit the city. Donald’s spell faded and he fell to the ground, unconscious. Drake sighed, leaning on Capt. Cabrera.

“ _Now_ it’s over,” Morgana said


	20. Take On Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Take on me (Take on me)  
> Take me on (Take on me)  
> I'll be gone  
> In a day or two."  
> — a-Ha, "Take On Me"

* * *

_1 Week After_

* * *

Drake walked into the hospital room with an arm full of flowers. 

“Drake, I swear if you bought me _another_ bouquet, I _will_ stab you again.”

“Actually, Fenton, these are for Donald,” Drake said, pulling back the room divider. He put the flowers on Donald’s table. “From Morgana, with the message ‘a reason to stay’.”

Donald looked at the flowers. “Daisies...”

Drake shrugged. “I do what I’m told.”

“Now that’s a lie,” Fenton said.

“Hey...” Drake said, leaning over and kissing his husband. 

“Did she say anything else?” Donald asked. 

“Nah, but you know how she is,” Drake said. He sat on the edge of Fenton’s hospital bed.

“I thought M’ma was driving you here?” Fenton said. 

“She took Gos over to pediatrics,” Drake said. “Webby woke up this morning.”

“Oh, thank god,” Donald sighed.

“Yeah,” Drake said.

“How’s Launchpad?” Fenton asked.

Drake shook his head. “Still out.”

Fenton took Drake’s hand in his. “He’ll be okay, babe. He’s survived a lot.”

“Nothing like this,” Donald said. “And you know that.”

“...Yeah, I know,” Fenton said.

Della knocked on the door as she walked in. 

“How we doing?” she asked. “Anyone gotten stabby yet?”

“Not for lack of trying,” Drake said. 

“Who sent the flowers?” Della asked.

“Morgana,” Donald said. “I think she has a soft spot for me. Anyways, I need to talk to the three of you about something.”

“Is it about you leaving?” Drake asked. 

“What? Why would he leave?” Della asked. “Donald, why would you leave?”

“Because I have to,” Donald said. “I have to fix what Evron did.”

“That could take _years_ ,” Fenton said. “The empire spanned the galaxy, and we don’t know anyone with access to lightspeed tech.”

“I’ve got a different way of travelling,” Donald said. “You’re not wrong, it’ll take a while. But I have to do it. This is my fault, and I have to fix it.”

“Donald, you can’t put that on yourself,” Della said. 

“Actually...” Fenton looked away.

“Fen?” Drake said. 

“As much as Evron was in my mind, I was in his,” Fenton said. “He... he wasn’t Donald. I knew that much, but he was... _from_ Donald.”

“That’s not wrong,” Donald said. “There’s an element to the magic I use, called Heart. And it’s not intangible, it’s a _thing_ that I can take and use. But a Heart can break. About 20 years ago, mine _shattered_.”

“Donald,” Della said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Why didn’t you say something?”

“You know Scrooge,” Donald said. “How he was about magic.”

“What does a Heart do when it breaks?” Drake asked.

“Mine didn’t _simply_ break,” Donald said. “I was able to collect most of it, stored it in the staff Lena’s been using. There's one stubborn piece that refuses to leave me. And then Evron was made of the rest."

"Wait," Fenton said. "Evron was immensely powerful. Completely dominated my will, could sense every drone and Erigus in the empire. And you're saying that was only a _portion_ of what you can do?"

"Exactly," Donald said.

"Hey, what happened to... you know?" Drake asked, crossing his arms.

"I got Ducklair off the Cube," Donald said. "Uno was with him last I saw."

"The eggheads put him in cryo," Della said. "Apparently de-Evronifying him is going to take more than a few nanites."

"I'd imagine," Donald said, looking away.

"Sure you want to leave with that hanging over you?" Drake asked.

"I have to," Donald said. "As soon as I can."

“All right, but you have to be back for Gosalyn’s Quince,” Fenton said. 

“Sorry, what?” Drake said.

“Mal and I’ve got it, babe,” Fenton said, before turning back to Donald. “I mean, you know, if you can visit.”

Donald blinked. “Oh.”

“Don’t tell me you're just planning on wandering the galaxy without ever coming home,” Della said. “And don’t say that I did it, because mine was unplanned.”

“I guess I just didn’t think about it like that,” Donald said.

“Look, if you want to go all _Yojimbo_ , that’s fine,” Drake said. “But we’ll be here, when you need us.”

“Always,” Della said, taking her brother’s hand.

* * *

_One Month After_

* * *

Gyro stood in front of Ducklair’s cryogenic chamber, taking notes on his vitals. They were slowly growing stronger— they had to be at a certain strength before he and Gandra would even _think_ about putting him under the knife. The freezing process let them control how fast that happened, so they could have enough time to figure out how they were going to do it without killing Ducklair in the process. 

Gyro could hear Fenton moving glassware behind him. He looked back to see Fenton clearing off the benches. 

“Hey, don’t touch the ones on—”

“Bench three, I know,” Fenton said. “But I want to get these in the sink before lunch.”

“You and Drake meeting up?” Gyro asked.

“Yeah, we’re discussing the honeymoon backups since ours was cancelled on account of aliens,” Fenton said.

“Sure, yeah,” Gyro said, looking back on his notes.

Fenton paused. “You know what happened wasn’t your fault.”

“I know,” Gyro said.

“And nothing has to change,” Fenton said. “I still care about you.”

“Everything’s changed,” Gyro said. “But that’s not because of you.”

Fenton nodded. “Okay.”

“How’s Mallory?” Gyro asked.

“Better,” Fenton said, walking over to the sink. “She’s got light and shapes. Doctor says there will be some lasting damage and she’ll probably need a stronger prescription by the end of it, but she should be able to see again in a few weeks.”

“That’s good,” Gyro said. “By the way, did you ever collect that twenty bucks?”

Fenton nearly dropped the beaker he was holding. “Sorry?”

“On the Cube,” Gyro said. “She told me and Della that she owed you twenty bucks.”

Fenton turned red. “I have _absolutely_ no idea what you’re talking about. I... I gotta go, or I’ll be late, see you in an hour.”

Fenton grabbed his duffel and rushed for the elevator. The doors opened and Della stepped out. Fenton turned even redder.

“Hey, Fen, what’s—”

“Gotta go, bye!”

Fenton stepped in the elevator and the doors almost slammed shut. Della laughed softly and Gyro grinned.

“Well, that was one way to tell him,” Gyro said.

“Tell him what?” Della asked.

“About us,” Gyro said.

She paused. “You’re ready to go public?”

“If you’ve told your Uncle, sure,” Gyro said. 

“Ah,” she said, flushing.

“Haven’t quite gotten there yet?” 

“Something like that,” Della said, scratching her neck. “I’m not sure how he’s going to... you know. React.”

“Well, he can’t _fire_ me,” Gyro said. “Trust me, the board’s _tried_.”

Della paused, looking up at Ducklair in the cryo chamber. 

“You know, you never told me what you were going to say,” she said. “Up in the Cube, before I cut you off.”

“ _Oh_.” Gyro put down his notes. “I mean, it doesn’t matter, really.”

“We were about to _die_ , and now it doesn’t matter?” she asked.

Gyro sighed. “You know that, up until recently, I was getting over a crush on Fenton, right?”

“ _Yeah_ ,” Della said, crossing her arms. “Yeah, you were kinda terrible at hiding that one.”

“Can I just... can we have a conversation?” Gyro asked. 

“Yeah, sorry,” Della said.

“What I was going to say,” he said, “was that I don’t know how to tell you how I feel. Because I don’t _know_ how I feel, not really. I spent the first twenty years of my life not understanding how I feel. And I’m all or nothing, Della. But right now, with this... this is new. It’s not scary, per se, but it’s not how I’ve felt about anyone else.”

“That’s not necessarily a bad thing,” Della said. “It could mean it’s something you want to keep.”

“I want to know,” Gyro said. “Why I feel like this. Why the past few weeks have felt like this. And I know it’s because of you.”

Della nodded. “I know what it’s like, to have to let go of someone. I didn’t think I’d have to do it on the moon chewing the absolute _worst_ flavor of gum—”

“I thought we were past that,” Gyro said.

“I lied,” Della said. “But I know that it’s easier if it’s less like letting go, and more like reaching for something else.”

She took his hand in hers.

“For me, it was the kids,” Della said. “And I’m all or nothing too, they are _everything_ to me. But I wanted to give them the stars, and I... I didn’t want things to change. And we both know how that turned out.”

Gyro held on tight to her hand. He leaned down and kissed her. “I think I’m ready for a change. But maybe we just get lunch?” 

She nodded. “Lunch sounds good.”

* * *

_3 Months After_

* * *

Gosalyn smoothed out the front of her dress as Capt. Cabrera zipped it up in the back. 

“How does it look?” Gosalyn asked.

“ _Es bonita_ ,” Capt. Cabrera said. “Just like the girl wearing it.”

“ _M’ma_...” she muttered, flushing.

“I’m your grandmother, girl.” She fixed a stray hair in front of Gosalyn’s face. “I’m allowed to embarrass you.”

Gosalyn got quiet and looked away.

“M’ma, when Fenton said that he wanted to go into science, were you..?” She closed her beak tightly. “I don’t know how to explain it.”

“I was concerned,” she said. “I wasn’t _surprised_ , mind you. His father was brilliant. But he never seemed to have enough time, even before he got sick. And from what I understand, Fenton is not exactly doing any better. You’re going to have a hell of a time figuring out a healthy work-life balance, between the four of them.”

“That’s not...” Gosalyn sighed. “I need to tell Drake something, but I don’t know what he’s going to think.”

“ _Pollita_ , you are the last girl in the world to worry about what her parents think of her choices,” Capt. Cabrera said. “I’m sure whatever it is, he’s going to be okay. He might not like it, but no parent approves of _every_ choice their child makes. Our job is to make sure that you feel safe enough to let us be there for you when you need us.”

Gosalyn nodded. 

“Your mother is waiting for us outside,” Capt. Cabrera said. “Are you ready?”

“I think so.”

In the hall, Drake held on tightly to Fenton’s hand.

“Babe, I know you’re nervous,” Fenton said quietly. “But I’m going to need my hand after today.”

“Right, sorry,” Drake said, pulling away. “Should I be this nervous?”

“Oh, please,” Fenton said. “You should have seen Tio Hector when Elena had her Quince. Sweating buckets.”

Drake nodded. “Sure, yeah.”

The doors opened and Mallory and Capt. Cabrera came in with Gosalyn. Gosalyn wore a cream sleeveless dress with a full skirt and a violet sash around her waist. Mallory didn’t so much hand Gosalyn off to Drake as Gosalyn ran across the floor to hug him. Drake held her tight. 

“You look beautiful, sweety,” Drake said. 

“Thanks, Dad,” she said.

He took her out to the floor as the music started.

_Hey there, Delilah, what’s it like in St. Canard? A thousand miles is far to walk, but they’ve got planes and trains and cars, I’ll make it through..._

“Thanks for doing this,” Gosalyn said.

“Of course,” Drake said. “I’ll always be there, whenever you need me.”

Gosalyn took a deep breath. “Good, cause... there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”

“Sure,” Drake said. “But I already know about the girlfriend.”

“Come on,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I’m being serious.”

“Right, right,” he said. “So what is it?”

“I want you to train me to be Darkwing someday,” she said. 

“... _Oh_.”

“It’s just...” She sighed. “I know it’s what I’m going to do someday. And this isn’t some impulse thing—”

“I know,” he said. 

“You know?”

“Contrary to popular belief, us adults actually talk to each other every once in a while,” he said. “Or at least, we try to talk before one of us gives a carbon-steel hockey stick to the other’s kid.”

“Really?” Gosalyn said.

“Try to look surprised when you get it, it took Della a good three days to convince Gyro to make it for you,” Drake said. “And I’m still not a hundred percent convinced she didn’t have to—”

“Please don’t finish that sentence,” Gosalyn said.

“Fair enough.”

_Oh, it’s what you do to me..._

“You’re sure about this?” he asked. “This life... it hasn’t exactly done wonders for our family.”

“I know,” Gosalyn said. “I can’t even say it’s what Dad would have wanted, but... the more I think about it, it feels _right_ , you know? Besides, you and Fenton do it.”

Drake laughed softly. “You _are_ better than Gizmoduck. And I can say that, cause he’d agree with me.”

Gosalyn laughed with him as the song ended. She hugged him.

“I love you, Dad,” she said. 

“Love you too, Gos.”

The music started up again and Drake went back to the other adults. Della, Gyro, Launchpad and Morgana were sitting at a table with Donald, who had taken a break from wandering the galaxy to come back home for a few days. Drake took Fenton’s hand again and Fenton handed him a tissue. 

“You’ve got some water on your face, babe.”

“Thanks,” Drake said softly. 

Mallory looked to the other side of the room and gasped, waving someone over.

“You guys have to meet my friend,” she said. “I’ve been reconnecting with some of the people I knew before I faked my death.”

A duck in a pink dress with pure white feathers walked over to the table. Drake could see Donald’s jaw drop.

“Hey, Mal!” the woman said. “New glasses?”

“Yep,” Mallory said. “Everybody, this is Daisy, we were roommates in college.”

Donald blinked and looked at Morgana, who sipped her drink and shrugged.

“I’m _very_ good at what I do,” she said.

Launchpad waved. "I'm Launchpad, I'm everyone's friend!"

Daisy laughed.

"He really is," Drake said. "I'm Drake."

“Right, the kid brother,” Daisy said. 

“Were you also a physics major?” Fenton asked.

“Oh, lord, no,” Daisy said. “I was in marketing. Science was _not_ my strongest subject.”

The music changed and Drake squeezed Fenton’s hand. 

“Can I interest you in a dance?” 

Fenton smiled. “Sure.”

Drake pulled him out onto the floor and they danced quietly for a moment, the smiles slowly fading from their faces. Drake held Fenton close.

“We’re going to be okay, right?” Drake asked.

Fenton pulled back a little, smiling.

“We’re superheroes,” Fenton said. “What could happen?”

Drake started to laugh and Fenton laughed with him. They kissed softly. 

“I love you,” Drake said. 

“I love you, too,” Fenton said. 

* * *

####  **_The End_ **

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your enthusiastic support! This has been such a great time for me, I hope it's been just as fun for you. If you want to know more about what happens next, I'm always free to answer questions over on my Tumblr (also [puck1919](https://puck1919.tumblr.com)), but I will be taking a break for a bit because this was a lot! Thank you all again!
> 
> Also, if you want the playlist of all the songs I used for chapter titles (as well as a few extra songs I used for inspo) the playlist is here: [Playlist Link](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2m3RW0Ts306ark6GlZlNys?si=r4H333g_Ttq_gjDtarzOrQ)


End file.
